After months of negotiations the Boston Bruins and Dennis Wideman avoided arbitration and agreed to a 4-year, $15.75m contract extension according to Sportsnet.ca.

The defenseman will count $3.93m per year against the salary cap, a very reasonable price given the spending spree that various NHL teams went on when free agency opened earlier this month. In signing this deal now, the Bruins bought out Wideman's first two seasons of unrestricted free agency, while the player received lifetime financial security.

Wideman showed exceptional growth during the 2007-08 season playing solid defense to go along with his offensive minded playmaking from the blue line. He will we enter the 2008-09 season as the number two defenseman on the Bruins behind Zdeno Chara.