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After the Wellington Diner of all places said on Twitter yesterday that Chris Wideman would be re-signing with the Senators, most of us expected the official deal to come out at any moment. I guess the team just wanted to wait until after the draft, as today it was announced that they re-signed Wideman to a one-year, $1M contract.
Considering a deal was not done a week before free agency, I was bearish on the prospect of the Senators re-signing him. Wideman’s never really been talked up that much by the team, and he’s always been limited to a third pairing role. However, I’m pleasantly surprised to see him back with the team, even if it is just on a one-year deal.
If the Senators are going to move Erik Karlsson eventually, then it makes sense to bring back a right-handed defenseman, but I hope that’s not the main reason for the deal. No matter what, this is a phenomenal signing by Ottawa, as I’ve been calling Wideman one of the best third pairing defensemen in the league. And honestly, I see no reason why he can’t handle a second pairing role, especially after seeing under-utilized players like Nate Schmidt, Brayden McNabb, and Shea Theodore thrive in Vegas.
Even if you are not the biggest Wideman fan, his contract is incredibly cheap. For comparison, here are some defensemen that are making just as much or more than him next season:
-Robert Bortuzzo
-Xavier Ouellet (who's being bought out)
-Ben Chiarot
-Scott Mayfield
-Jake McCabe
-Adam Pelech
He’s much better than all of them.
$1M is so inconsequential, especially since Ottawa will probably be shedding even more salary this summer. For a 28-year-old offensive defensemen that can help on the power play, Wideman is a bargain. I’ve referenced this many times before, but over the past two seasons
he ranks 8th amongst defensemen in relative corsi at +5.57% , and is right ahead of some great players like Brent Burns, Zach Werenski, Mattias Ekholm, and Kris Letang. Of course I’m not saying he belongs in that category, but the fact that he can be a positive possession player while playing with anchors is quite impressive.
I’d love to see him get a longer leash and see what he could do with tougher minutes, because it’s clear that he’s too good for his deployment and that Cody Ceci is nowhere near good enough for his deployment. I’m not expecting that to happen, but when someone is 3rd amongst defensemen on your team in points per 60 and the best possession player,
perhaps he deserves more ice time.
If Wideman is back to full health, he should provide the Senators with fantastic value.
After this signing, there are six defensemen under contract for next season:
-Erik Karlsson
-Thomas Chabot
-Chris Wideman
-Mark Borowiecki
-Christian Wolanin
-Ben Harpur
Cody Ceci and Fredrik Claesson are both restricted free agents, although I’m not totally convinced that Claesson will be coming back, as sad as that would be. Nobody else is really pushing for a spot in the lineup, so this could be the uninspiring group for next season. There’s still lots of time for Pierre Dorion to make trades and signings, and at least he kept Wideman in this group to ensure that the third pairing won’t be horrendous.
Even with a move as small as this, it’s still nice to have something good happen.
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