Chris Wideman sent a big message to the fans and the Canadiens' management during press conference

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Jeff Drouin
April 28, 2022 (9:02)

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One of the nice surprises of this season for the Habs is defenseman Chris Wideman.

Acquired as a free agent last summer, the right-handed defenseman has a respectable 26 points in 63 games this year, which makes him the Canadiens' leading defensive scorer.

However, it is not known if he will be back with the team next fall. Wideman was recently interviewed on the Athletic Support podcast, and as reported by my colleague Christian Matte of Marker.com, the 32-year-old defenseman acknowledges that it's possible that no one will be beckoning him to continue in the NHL.

"It depends on a few things, you know. Whatever happens, I'll be okay with that. There's so much going on in the league right now, so many teams struggling on the ice, with salary cap issues, there's going to be a lot of movement.

For me, this has been a great opportunity to come here and play, and enjoy a group of guys that I want to continue to play with."

However, if it were up to him, Wideman wouldn't hesitate for a second to return for another season with the Habs. In fact, he has been acting as a mentor to young defenseman Jordan Harris for some time. Let's just say that he greatly appreciates this role.

"He's a teammate of mine, he's someone I've tried to help, because that's what I'm supposed to do, being an older guy on the team. [...] I've been through some things and I see some things that I think I can help with. [At the same time, we played together last night. If he plays better, it's better for me, it's better for the team, it's a winner. I don't mind helping him on an individual level. [...] At the end of the day, I still get a paycheck from the Montreal Canadiens and we're on the same team, I have to do whatever I can to help and be a good teammate."

It will be interesting to see if Wideman will be part of Kent Hughes and Jeff Gorton's plans for next season. This season, the American defenseman is making $750,000 in salary and will be a free agent without compensation this summer.

He has such a good attitude and consistently shows that he is an exemplary teammate.

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Would you like to see Kent Hughes offer a new contract to defenseman Chris Wideman?
Yes, 1 year 750k	169	44.5 %
Yes, 2 years 2 millions	126	33.2 %
No	85	22.4 %
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