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Chris Wideman
Born (1990-01-07)January 7, 1990,
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Height
Weight
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb)
Position Defense
Shoots Right
NHL team
F. teams
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Edmonton Oilers
Florida Panthers
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Ntl. team Flag of the United States United States of America
NHL Draft 100th overall, 2009
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 2012–present

Chris Wideman (born January 7, 1990) is an American professional ice hockey defenseman who is currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the fourth round, 100th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. In addition to the Senators, Wideman briefly played for the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers.

Playing career[]

Amateur[]

Wideman was born in St. Louis, Missouri. As a youth, he played in the 2003 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the St. Louis Jr. Blues minor ice hockey team.[1]

Wideman played high school hockey for Chaminade College Preparatory School. In 2007, Wideman joined the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders of the USHL where he played one year of Tier I junior hockey before entering Miami University in 2008. After one season at Miami, Wideman was drafted in the fourth round, 100th overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. During his four-year stint in Miami, he helped the RedHawks earn their first two Frozen Four appearances, a national championship game appearance, and their first CCHA tournament title.[2][3]

Professional[]

Ottawa Senators[]

On March 28, 2012, the Senators signed Wideman to a two-year, entry-level contract.[4] After graduating from Miami, he joined the Senators' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Binghamton Senators for the 2012–13 season. In his first professional season, Wideman scored two goals and 18 points in 60 games. He also skated in five games for the Elmira Jackals of the ECHL.[citation needed]

Wideman played another two full seasons with Binghamton, and had a career-year during the 2014–15 season. After recording 19 goals and 61 points in 75 games, he was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the league's best defenseman.[5] On June 29, 2015, the Senators re-signed Wideman to a one-year, two-way contract worth $600,000.[6]

He made his NHL debut on October 17, 2015 against the Nashville Predators.[7] On November 7, in his fourth game, Wideman scored his first NHL goal in a 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.[8]

During the 2017–18 season, Wideman underwent surgery to repair a hamstring injury,[9] ending his season. Despite this, Wideman signed a one-year contract extension with the Senators on June 24, 2018.[10]

Uber incident[]

During the 2018–19 season, on November 4, 2018, a video was released showing Wideman and six of his teammates criticizing the Ottawa Senators and mocking assistant coach Marty Raymond while riding in the back of an Uber vehicle in Phoenix, Arizona.[11] The video had been recorded on October 29, 2018, without the players' knowledge, with Wideman and his then-teammate Matt Duchene talking the most in the video. The video was released by the Uber driver, who was apparently upset by the players' tip and behavior.[12] Wideman, along with the other players involved, later issued a statement apologizing for the incident.[13][14]

Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins[]

After the Uber incident, Wideman was traded three times in four months.[12] On November 22, 2018, Wideman was traded by the Senators to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2020 conditional sixth-round pick.[15] Over the course of a month with the Oilers, Wideman featured in only 5 games for 2 assists before he was dealt for a second time within the season, leaving the Oilers along with a 2019 third-round pick, to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Alex Petrovic on December 30, 2018.[16] Wideman made his Panthers debut in a 4-3 overtime defeat to the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 5, 2019, before he was placed on waivers the following day.[17] He cleared waivers and was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, where he collected 3 goals and 13 points through 16 games from the blueline.

At the trade deadline, Wideman's journeyman season continued as he was dealt for the third time, traded by the Panthers to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Jean-Sébastien Dea on February 25, 2019. He was assigned to report directly to AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.[18]

Anaheim Ducks[]

As a free agent from the Penguins, Wideman was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Anaheim Ducks on July 16, 2019.[19] He did not feature for the Ducks during the 2019-20 season, assigned to AHL affiliate the San Diego Gulls, posting 31 points through 53 games before the remainder of the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod[]

As an impending free agent from the Ducks, Wideman opted to pursue a career in Russia, agreeing to a one-year contract with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod of the KHL, on June 1, 2020.[20] During the 2020–21 KHL season, he was named KHL Top Defenceman of the Year.[12][21]

Montreal Canadiens[]

Following his success in the KHL, Wideman returned to the NHL for the 2021–22 season after signing a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[22] In 64 appearances with the team that season, he scored 4 goals and 23 assists for a career-best 27 point NHL season. He tied Jeff Petry for the most points by a Canadiens defenceman for the year. He assumed a key role helping to run the team's power play.[23] Following the end of the season, the Canadiens re-signed Wideman to a two-year, $1.525 million contract.[24] Wideman had used the jersey number 20 for his first season with the Canadiens, but he agree to cede the number to the team's 2022 first overall draft pick Juraj Slafkovský in exchange for an autographed jersey as a keepsake for his newborn son.[25]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 Chaminade College Preparatory School HS-MO 4 5 9
2005–06 Chaminade College Preparatory School HS-MO 5 16 21
2006–07 Chaminade College Preparatory School HS-MO 9 6 15
2006–07 St. Louis Blues 16U AAA AAA 62 9 21 30 122
2006–07 St. Louis Bandits NAHL 1 0 0 0 0 7 0 1 1 4
2007–08 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders USHL 53 2 12 14 51 1 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Miami RedHawks CCHA 39 0 26 26 56
2009–10 Miami RedHawks CCHA 44 5 17 22 63
2010–11 Miami RedHawks CCHA 39 3 20 23 32
2011–12 Miami RedHawks CCHA 41 4 20 24 40
2012–13 Elmira Jackals ECHL 5 0 5 5 7
2012–13 Binghamton Senators AHL 60 2 16 18 46 3 1 2 3 2
2013–14 Binghamton Senators AHL 73 9 42 51 101 4 1 0 1 6
2014–15 Binghamton Senators AHL 75 19 42 61 116
2015–16 Ottawa Senators NHL 64 6 7 13 34
2016–17 Ottawa Senators NHL 76 5 12 17 46 15 1 3 4 4
2017–18 Ottawa Senators NHL 16 3 5 8 6
2018–19 Ottawa Senators NHL 19 2 3 5 12
2018–19 Edmonton Oilers NHL 5 0 2 2 4
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 1 0 0 0 2
2018–19 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 16 3 10 13 12
2018–19 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 3 0 2 2 7
2019–20 San Diego Gulls AHL 53 9 22 31 73
2020–21 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod KHL 59 9 32 41 73 4 1 1 2 20
2021–22 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 4 23 27 67
NHL totals 245 20 52 72 171 15 1 3 4 4
KHL totals 59 9 32 41 73 4 1 1 2 20
Medal record
Competitor for Flag of the United States United States of America
Ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze 2021 Latvia

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2016 United States WC 4th 10 2 4 6 8
2021 United States WC Bronze medal icon 9 0 0 0 2
Senior totals 19 2 4 6 10

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
College
CCHA All-Rookie Team 2009 [26]
CCHA Second All-Star Team 2011
AHL
All-Star Game 2015, 2020
First All-Star Team 2015
Eddie Shore Award 2015
CCM/AHL Player of the Week November 3, 2014
Player of the Month October 2014 [27]

References[]

  1. Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA (2018).
  2. Rutherford, Jeremy (June 28, 2009). Ottawa picks St. Louisan Notebook • Defenseman Chris Wideman goes in fourth round NHL DRAFT. stltoday.com.
  3. Miami a Family Affair for Wideman Brothers. Chaminade Red Devils Hockey (June 18, 2014).
  4. CHRIS WIDEMAN.
  5. WIDEMAN VOTED WINNER OF EDDIE SHORE AWARD.
  6. Senators re-sign D prospect Chris Wideman to rich deal (June 29, 2015).
  7. "Senators' Chris Wideman relishes first taste of NHL", October 18, 2015. 
  8. Look Back: First career NHL goals this season (March 21, 2016).
  9. Senators' Chris Wideman to undergo surgery for torn hamstring (December 1, 2017).
  10. Senators sign Chris Wideman to one-year contract extension (June 24, 2018).
  11. "Senators players caught trash-talking team on video recording", CBC Sports, November 5, 2018. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Rutherford, Jeremy. "The 'Uber Incident': Did a secret video destroy an NHL career?", The Athletic, July 7, 2021. 
  13. "Ottawa Senators players apologize after video of them ridiculing assistant coach goes public", 2018-11-06. Retrieved on 2019-06-17. 
  14. Sadler, Emily (November 7, 2018). Senators' Chris Wideman, Thomas Chabot issue apologies for Uber video - Sportsnet.ca.
  15. Edmonton Oilers take another stab at fixing "D" depth trading for Chris Wideman (November 22, 2018).
  16. Panthers Acquire D Chris Wideman and 2019 3rd round pick from Oilers.
  17. Kings Scherbak, two others placed on waivers. The Sports Network (January 6, 2019).
  18. Penguins get Wideman from Panthers for Dea. The Sports Network (February 25, 2019).
  19. Ducks sign Del Zotto, De Leo, Kloos and Wideman to one-year contracts. Anaheim Ducks (July 16, 2019).
  20. Chris Wideman strengthens Torpedo defense (Russian). Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (June 1, 2020).
  21. @khl_eng. Torpedo's @Chris_Wideman 🇺🇸 has scored 41 Pts in 59 GP and was named KHL Top Defenseman of the Year! #KHLAwards. Missing or empty |date= (help)
  22. One-year contract for defenseman Chris Wideman (July 28, 2021).
  23. Cowan, Stu (June 6, 2022). Chris Wideman will fill key leadership role with Canadiens.
  24. Canadiens sign Chris Wideman to two-year contract extension (June 6, 2022).
  25. Cowan, Stu (27 July 2022). Canadiens' Wideman goes extra mile for top pick Slafkovsky.
  26. Miami, Michigan, OSU Land 2 Each on All-Rookie Team. College Hockey News (March 9, 2009).
  27. October monthly award winners named. AHL (November 3, 2014).

External links[]

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