Senators ship Chris Wideman to Oilers

The Ottawa Senators made a trade with the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday afternoon, dealing away blueliner Chris Wideman for a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL draft.

Wideman had struggled this season, managing five points and a minus-9 rating through 19 games. He was also riding in the passenger seat and front-and-center during the Sens’ Uber controversy.

The 28-year-old was selected 100th overall by Ottawa in the 2009 NHL draft and has amassed 43 points (16 goals), 98 PIM and a plus-7 rating over 175 games in four seasons with the Senators.

Oilers management has been active of late, recently trading away Ryan Strome to the Rangers for Ryan Spooner and replacing head coach Todd McLellan with veteran Ken Hitchcock.

The conditional pick involved in the Wideman trade is actually the sixth round pick that came to Edmonton from the St. Louis Blues for Jakub Jerabek. If Jerabek plays 50 NHL games this season (played 1 so far and is in AHL), Ottawa receives the Blues fifth-round pick in 2020.

It’s not much of a return for the Senators, who likely could have got more for the rearguard if they waited for the trade deadline. Wideman is only three years removed from an impressive 76-game NHL season in which he racked up 17 points, 46 PIM, 123 shots on goal and a plus-7 rating. He’s shown he can be a reliable two-way blueliner and never got much of an opportunity to display his offensive capabilities in Ottawa behind the talented Erik Karlsson.