Breaking: Chris Wideman pulled out of practice, informed he has been traded.

We have a trade to announce in the National Hockey League.

Sportsnet National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman announced on Sunday that veteran defenseman Chris Wideman had been pulled out of practice with the Edmonton Oilers as the result of the Oilers "working on something." The indication at the time was that the Oilers were working on some form of trade involving Wideman and that has now been officially confirmed.

According to a breaking news report from TSN National Hockey League insider Bob McKenzie the Oilers have in fact pulled the trigger on a trade with the Florida Panthers organization. Wideman, as you would expect, is one of the players being moved in this trade and he will be headed to the Panthers organization along with a conditional 3rd round draft selection at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Florida's Alexander Petrovic. The move likely caught Wideman completely off guard given the fact that he was pulled off the ice in the middle of his practice today.

The 28 year old Wideman now sees himself traded for the second time in just a little over one month, and this has to be a rather troubling sign regarding his long term future in the National Hockey League. The veteran blue liner has seen very limited playing time this season as a member of the Oilers and after just 5 games it seems like the Oilers have already had enough of the veteran's presence on their roster. The trade from Ottawa followed an incident in which Wideman was caught on camera disparaging Senators staff and being traded after just 5 games with another team has to feel like a stain on his record.

The other piece headed to Florida is a 3rd round draft selection in 2019 but there is a condition attached to it. The Oilers currently have 2 third round draft choices and according to McKenzie the Panthers are guaranteed the highest of those 2 choices as a result of this trade. 

As for Alexander Petrovic the 26 year old defenseman's inclusion in this trade in the most obvious part of this deal. The Oilers have suffered some significant injuries on the blue line this season and it has played a big role in the organizations recent slump in form. The decision to bring in Petrovic, a native of Alberta, is likely a direct result of those injuries.

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