A good reader on Twitter pointed out to me that NHLNumbers.com‘s Senators page indicates that Ottawa Senators prospect Chris Wideman is slated to be an Group IV unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
@6thSens Shit. Chris Wideman is a group IV UFA. http://t.co/pZ5ikkW0Sz
— Blake Crossley (@ToddHockney) April 21, 2015
NHLnumbers.com is wrong.
Per the NHL’s CBA, Group IV free agency deals exclusively with defected players. Since Wideman has fulfilled all the provisions of his standard player’s contract while playing professionally within the Senators organization, he doesn’t qualify for Group IV free agency.