Just spoke via conference call with the newest Capitals player, defenseman Dennis Wideman, who was acquired this afternoon in a trade with the Florida Panthers. Check out our earlier post with the pertinent details here.
Wideman was pulled off the ice during Florida’s practice this morning in Coral Springs, Fla. He knew right away what that mean. But is was a welcome surprise that he was headed to Washington. From the outhouse – or wherever the No. 12 team in the Eastern Conference resides – to, well, not exactly the penthouse this season. But maybe a nice two-bedroom apartment with good views in a prime location.
“I was obviously in a hockey city and in the loop there with Boston last year. And then to come down here to Florida it was a little quieter because we’re in the process of rebuilding,” Wideman said. “And now to jump back into the spotlight even more with a team like Washington with the amount of firepower they have obviously there’s going to be a lot more pressure there to perform. I’m excited about it and hope to contribute as much as I can.”
With the Panthers in full rebuilding mode now, Wideman and his agent had heard rumors of interest from a couple teams.
“Washington was not one of them. I had never heard anything about Washington,” Wideman said. “That’s usually the way it works. If you hear you’re going to get traded then you never usually do. So this was a bit of a surprise.”
Other than playing the Caps – a lot – while with Florida and the Bruins in recent years, Wideman has another slight connection to the organization. He played for three years in junior hockey under former Washington captain Dale Hunter and his brother, Mark, in London, Ontario.
Wideman has seen firsthand that the Caps’ power play has struggled this season. The Panthers played Washington three times earlier this season and the Caps went 1-1-1 against them.
“When you’re one of the better teams in the league you face everybody’s best every night and whenever I was personally playing against Washington and those guys it was exciting,” Wideman said. “You’re going in and you’re like “I want to shut down these guys tonight’. If they’ve been shoring up their defense and allowing fewer goals that pans out well for the playoffs. I think they’re moving in the right direction towards the playoffs here and I think we’re going to make a good push.”
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