Dennis wideman

[terminator]

Well he's better then Schultz and if Schultz is a Norris candidate then Wideman has a leg up.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by blankall

Great second pairing defenseman for us this year. Still overpaid. Nowhere close to Norris worthy.

I don't think you can say he's overpaid given his performance so far this year. Whether that's sustainable or not, what past performance was, and how that would factor in to the price tag is definitely a discussion. But if you just take his season this year, I'd say he's right on target.

[Finger Cookin]

Originally Posted by calgary2220

Although I love how he has been contributing on the offensive side, and winning us games. I would really like him to be better in his own end. It’s nail biting to watch our defence if it’s not Brodie or Gio. Obvious we need to be better in our own end, as the only other plus defensemen is Russell at +3. If this team want to go anywhere this stat has to change.

I'm quite comfortable with either pair from our top 4 on the ice. It's below that where things get nail biting - for me, at least.

[Daradon]

Agree 100%

[gvitaly]

Hockey is a game of confidence, and Wideman is another proof of that. On the defensive side, right now he is getting good support from both the forwards and his defensive partner. Last year, most of his 'brain farts' with the puck happened when he didn't have anyone to pass to, so he had to get the puck of the glass or skate it out. His foot speed is still below average, but thanks to back pressure and stick checks from our centers he gets enough time to skate with the play.

As for the offense, its once again confidence! He started doing two things right- 1) hitting the net and 2)keeping the puck in the zone. During last season it seemed that Wideman couldn't hit the net to save his life, his shots were either blocked or hit the glass behind the net and bounced right out of the zone. Also, Gaudreau and Wideman really started finding each other in the offensive zone.

Now for the big question- is he a Norris candidate? Not at all. He is an offensive specialist that is put in a position to succeed. If you don't believe me, try to remember the difficulty he had during the couple of games Russell was injured.

[Mister Yamoto]

Tied for 25th in goals. 2 goals shy of 7th. Who would of thunk it? Not me.

[FAN]

Wideman's goal totals are incredible. He's 3 goals shy of his career high. Definitely didn't see that coming.

Anyhow, I always said that Wideman is a player who helps teams make the playoffs. He just isn't a player that helps teams advance in the playoffs.

[OzSome]

I don't think he is a Norris trophy candidate or might even win the award this season. We are not even sure if whoever voting for Norris at the end of season will even vote for our best D Mark Giordano. A lot of people from the media are noticing Giordano and Brodie's play lately but some of those Eastern voters probably don't know them which is sad. We've seen it happenned before Jose Theodore beat Jarome Iginla for Hart trophy because some of the Eastern voters never even seen Iginla played.
As for Wideman, I love this guy's offensive talent. I don't agree that he is a defensive liability at all. He does his job. Wideman I thought earned his contract at the start of his career with the Flames then he got hurt and was playing hurt. Hartley played him with Butler, or Smith and started playing less minutes. Got frustrated maybe with his plays and lost confidence late last season and early this season. Hartley scratched him and reunited him with Kris Russell who he had success playing with before the injury. He started producing and his confidence grew. It just happens that our # defense pairings to complement the #2 pairings. This team early success was because of our D pairings. #1 and #2 can contribute offensively and are solid defensively. Both pairings can make tape-to-tape long passes. Yes they are not perfect and make mistakes at times but their good plays outdone the mistakes. Their #3 pairings is more like in-your face D pairings.
I hope Wideman can keep on contributing with some timely goals.

[aedge]

I'm really hoping gio wins it he damn well deserves it. But 30 goals from a d man is damn impressive which is why I brought it up for discussion. Have 2 d men from the same team ever been nominated?


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[Stay Golden]

For an offensive minded D man like Wideman so long as the offence out weighs D mistakes he is an asset to the team.
With that said he has certainly cooled down but he is still as a D man ...
18th in the NHL for points
Tied first for goals.
But a -6.
Wideman should get back to shooting more from the point.
I have noticed he has been faking shots from the point too frequently recently.
Not sure if that is the coaches telling him to or his own choice but Wideman is gifted with his lazer of a point shot. When he uses it Wideman is a weapon.
Down side to him is he has slow footspeed north south.
Currently in his contract he is well worth keeping. In 2 years i could see Wideman really being in the hot seat if he is not scoring.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

The NHL awards are a complete and total joke.

The Norris Tropht is awarded to the defenceman who scores the most goals during prime time games against the old Atlantic Conference teams.

They'd give it to John Michael Liles if he put up enough points.

[Gaskal]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

I have noticed he has been faking shots from the point too frequently recently.
Not sure if that is the coaches telling him to or his own choice but Wideman is gifted with his lazer of a point shot. When he uses it Wideman is a weapon.

The problem is, other teams have been cluing in on the point blast of his. Whenever he winds up for it, like 2 of their PK'ers are instantly in the lane. That's probably why he's faking it; hoping that he can get two PK'ers to commit and thus open up the shooting lane for Russell. Flames have been having trouble trying to get shots from the point through recently though.

[Iggy Snipe]

Not a chance Wideman is even considered for the Norris. +/- ? He is a minus player.

He has 10 goals but hasn't done anything in 12+ games. He is great offensively, but the Norris is the total package. He is only half of it. Don't get me wrong, I like Wideman and what he brings to the team, but not a Norris type player. Ever.

[Scoutski]

Just a note that Wideman's 3 seasons with the Flames have all been about the same length at this point and his shooting % is unreal, his best season before this has been 7.7% and in 7/10 other seasons he's ended up a minus player. Props to him, hope he can keep up this pace!

EDIT: Didn't post this to try stir up the Norris talks... I don't know how those are realistic. He's just having what is his best season as a Flame so far, wanted to acknowledge him.

[ForeverFlameFan]

He has always played better when we are fighting for a playoff position.

[blankall]

Lol...no not a Norris candidate by a long shot.

Fantastic second pairing dman though. There's a lot of talk about needing to upgrade or defence. I don't see it. Russell is leading the league in blocked shots. The other three, enough said.

[codynw]

Originally Posted by blankall

Lol...no not a Norris candidate by a long shot.

Fantastic second pairing dman though. There's a lot of talk about needing to upgrade or defence. I don't see it. Russell is leading the league in blocked shots. The other three, enough said.

The top 4 isn't the problem. It's everything below that. One injury to the top 4 and one of Smid, Engelland or Diaz are forced to play in the top 4. That is no good.

[Hot_Flatus]

This can't be serious?

Despite his offensive output he is still clearly a major liability in his own zone and his skating is nowhere near good enough to make up for those shortcomings.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by blankall

Lol...no not a Norris candidate by a long shot.

Fantastic second pairing dman though. There's a lot of talk about needing to upgrade or defence. I don't see it. Russell is leading the league in blocked shots. The other three, enough said.

There is that other pairing, of course. I'd like to see two more really capable guys and maybe splitting Russell and Wideman into a 2A and 2B pairing with them.

Plus Wideman is not getting younger and the Flames need to think about 3 years from now - who are the defencemen? I can see Gio being the elder statesman still, and Brodie being the star at that point. I can see Russell progressing, but Wideman is probably gone by then.

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by codynw

The top 4 isn't the problem. It's everything below that. One injury to the top 4 and one of Smid, Engelland or Diaz are forced to play in the top 4. That is no good.

Yes and no. The problem actually is that both Wideman and Russell are both in the top 4. IMO, both are "4th" defencemen. Smid, England and Diaz are actually acceptable #6guys (varying degrees). What this team needs is another Top 4 guy to push down one of Russell or Wideman to the 3rd pair 5 on 5 so that if we had an injury in the top 4, our current situation would be what we deal with.

The issue isn't that Smid, Englland, Diaz need upgrading, it's that the 2nd pairing needs upgrading. If this team were looking to improve the D via trade for example, they shouldn't be targeting an improvement to Smid or Engelland, they should be targeting an upgrade on Russell / Wideman which would push one of those guys down.