The Montreal Canadiens were hit by the injury bug last season, and unfortunately, the bug is back this season as the Canadiens announced that defenceman Chris Wideman will be out indefinitely with a back injury. Wideman has spent the last two seasons with the Canadiens and is entering his seventh season in the NHL. He was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators 100th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, and over the course of his career, he’s spent time with the Senators, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, and Montreal Canadiens. In 291 career games, he’s put up 20 goals and 58 assists for 78 points, along with a goal and three assists in 15 Stanley Cup Playoff games, all of which came with the Senators in 2017.
For the Canadiens, this isn’t a massive loss, as Wideman only saw action in 46 games last year, where he put up six assists. With Wideman out of the lineup, this opens up another spot on the blueline for one of the Habs prospects to get some time with the Canadiens to begin the season. I would expect to see guys like Jordan Harris and Justin Barron to benefit from the loss of Wideman possibly. Barron was not a guy who was expected to make the team out of camp, but with a spot now open on the blue line, it wouldn’t be a shock if he made the Habs as the team’s seventh defenceman, and for Harris, I would expect him to get a shot to solidify his spot on the Habs as an everyday defenceman.
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