Chris Wideman will continue the adventure with the Canadian. The defender has signed a two-year contract extension with the Habs, the team announced Monday morning.
Posted at 8:30 a.m.
Updated at 8:33 a.m.
The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Wideman had 27 points (4 goals, 23 assists) in 64 games last season with Montreal. He thus shared the 1er team rank among defensemen, tied with Jeff Petry. However, he also showed one of the worst differentials on the team, -25. Only Nick Suzuki (-29) showed worse performance in this column.
Wideman was primarily employed in a power play specialist role. He averaged 14:53 per game, which made him the team’s least employed defender among the permanent members of the roster. But he was also the most used back on the power play (2 min 29 s on average).
With this contract, Wideman has therefore won its bet made in 2020-2021. Unable to establish himself in the NHL after stints in the Senators, Oilers, Panthers, Penguins and Ducks organizations, he went into exile in the KHL that season, where he won the defenseman title of the year of the circuit.
Note also that this is the first contract extension offered by the general manager of the Canadiens, Kent Hughes, since taking office. The only other contracts signed by players since his hiring were entry contracts.