Flames' Dennis Wideman lost for the season

The Calgary Flames made an effort to recover from a disastrous mid-season stretch to try to get back into the Western Conference playoff race, but now that their fate for an early start to their summer is all but set, they are setting things up for the offseason - which includes having veteran defenseman Dennis Wideman shutdown from his rehab for an upper-body injury.

Wideman suffered the mysterious ailment against the Ottawa Senators on March 5th - leaving the game after his first shift of the final frame - and hasn't seen the ice since.

All coach Bob Hartley has revealed is the aforementioned upper-body injury, and then on Thursday briefly addressed his blue liner's status going forward by telling reporters that Wideman “is shut down right now. It doesn’t very good for Wides until the end of the season.”

Originally projected to miss just a couple of games, Wideman's rehab has not produced the desired affect - so to shut down the rehab efforts in favor of rest and perhaps some sort of advanced treatment is in order, though because of the ambiguity displayed by the Flames, no one but Wideman and team doctors really know for sure.

Hartley says Wideman is a "long shot" to return before the end of the season.
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) March 20, 2014

Playing in just 46 games on the season - same as last year's lockout shortened campaign - Wideman has four goals and 17 helpers while producing an abysmal minus-17 rating.