Joel Dorcas | December 30th, 2018
The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers have made a minor trade in exchanging defensemen. The Panthers will also receive a conditional third-round pick from the Oilers in this year’s draft. The two players involved are Alexander Petrovic going to Edmonton and Chris Wideman going to Florida.
JUST IN: The #Oilers have acquired D Alex Petrovic from the #Panthers in exchange for D Chris Wideman and a 2019 conditional third-round draft pick, according to @TSNBobMcKenzie. #TSNHockey https://t.co/Bn7vDXSfuw pic.twitter.com/MlwnMTEePM
— SportsCentre (@SportsCentre) December 30, 2018
Petrovic is a 26-year-old who just so happens to have Edmonton Alberta as his hometown designation. Petrovic profiles as shut-down type of defensemen who is most effective in a defensive-first role. He can be used in penalty-killing type situations as well. If anything this gives the Oilers more depth at the position as Wideman never found a distinctive roll in his limited time with the Oilers. Petrovic was a second-round selection, 36th overall in 2010 for the Panthers. He has played in six NHL seasons, all with Florida, registering a total of 49 points in 254 games. His best season was the 2015-2016 season where he registered 17 points in 66 games with a career-best plus-minus of plus 17.
Wideman, a native of St. Louis Missouri, two years older then Petrovic, was originally drafted by the Ottawa Senators in 2009 as the 100th overall selection (fourth round). This will be Wideman’s third team this year and third of his entire career which spans four seasons(including ’18-’19). He spent three full seasons with the Sens before starting this season with the Oilers where he put up two assists in only five games before this mid-season trade. Wideman is thought to have a more offensive up-side then Petrovic but hasn’t put up more than 17 points in a full season. For his career, he has 16 goals and 29 assists good for only 49 points in 180 games.
It will be interesting to see if either player can carve out a role for their new squads. At first glance it appears that both players will be counted on to be at most the fifth or sixth defenseman, it is also likely that they will be depth players that are not necessarily guaranteed to crack the lineup.
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