Penguins add Chris Wideman from Florida to beef up depth on blue line
While the acquisition of 6-foot-5 Erik Gudbranson at Monday’s NHL trade deadline was about adding size and strength to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ blue line, a trade for Chris Wideman was meant to provide depth.
The Penguins acquired Wideman from the Florida Panthers in exchange for center Jean-Sebastien Dea.
Wideman, 29, is a 5-foot-10, right-handed, puck-moving defenseman who was a regular for the Ottawa Senators from 2015-17. He tore his hamstring when Evgeni Malkin fell on him during a November game last season.
He has been a journeyman this season, playing 25 NHL games with Ottawa, Edmonton and Florida. Before the trade, he was playing with Springfield of the AHL, recording 13 points in 16 games.
He was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Monday.
“He gives us depth on defense,” general manager Jim Rutherford said. “He’s a smaller guy, a puck-moving guy. He’s played some games in the league. He’s got some experience. He could see some time here at some point.”
Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.
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