Since the Calgary Flames acquired Michael Stone on Monday afternoon, much of the chatter around the team has been whether they will be able to find a taker for Dennis Wideman since the veteran defenseman is now basically out of a job. Wideman was scratched yesterday and told Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Herald today that he would definitely be open” to waiving his NMC to facilitate a deal of some sort. Wideman wants to go somewhere he’s “wanted”, though that may be difficult given his declining play and hefty cap hit.
Wideman has played 810 games in the NHL and was once considered a premiere puck-moving defenseman capable of racking up points in bunches. He has four 40+ point seasons under his belt but the game seems to have slipped just out of his grasp this season. Calgary seems determined to give Matt Bartkowski a chance at locking down the third pairing, meaning Wideman will be sitting in the press box more often than not.
It will be interesting to see if Calgary can find a taker for Wideman, who carries a $5.25MM cap hit but $6MM in real salary. The team could retain some of his salary, but are already tight against the cap and using the relief granted from Ladislav Smid’s LTIR status. Perhaps they’ll include Wideman in another move they make and overpay elsewhere, but it seems like he’s stuck in Calgary for the time being. Don’t forget that the playoffs are a grind though, and one injury—perhaps to a surgically repaired knee of a recent acquisition—could force Wideman right back into a big-minute role for the Flames.