Chris Wideman signs new multi-year contract.

Veteran defenseman Chris Wideman has been rewarded for his hard work this past season.

According to an official announcement from the Montreal Canadiens, Wideman and the team have come to terms on a new contract that will keep the 32 year old blue liner with the Canadiens for the next 2 seasons. Although the Canadiens have not disclosed the financial terms of this deal, Habs insider Eric Engels is reporting that the deal will earn Wideman the league minimum of $750,000 in the first year of his contract and that will be followed by a slight bump up in pay in the second year at $775,000.

Additionally Engels reports that, somewhat unsurprisingly on a deal of this nature, the contract is all salary with no signing bonuses attached to the deal. That means that Wideman's contract will work out to an average annual value and salary cap hit of $762,000 per season.

Following the signing of the contract, Wideman shared some of his thoughts on remaining within the Canadiens organization moving forward. Wideman sung the praises of new head coach Martin St. Louis, and appears to be looking forward to his time under the guidance of the former NHL star.

"I’ve learned so much in the short amount of time that I’ve gotten to work for him, so I’m excited to see not only what he can do for our group but how I can grow personally on and off the ice," said Wideman of St. Louis.

Wideman also very astutely sung the praises of executive vice president Jeff Gorton, correctly pointing out that his fingerprints are all over the New York Rangers roster currently competing in the Eastern Conference Final.

"I think that everything that they’ve done has been extremely calculated… If you’re a fan and you want to see what the end result looks like, just turn the TV on and look at the New York Rangers. I don’t think anybody really had them picked to be a final-four team, but you watch them right now and they’ve got a lot of depth, a lot of young players that have stepped up in a big moment, and I could see the Montreal Canadiens being there a lot sooner than people think."