The Bruins locked up one of their younger players in 25-year-old Dennis Wideman yesterday, signing the defenseman to a four-year, $15.5 million extension that translates to a $3.875 million annual cap hit.

On the same day, in a salary-clearing transaction, the Bruins took the first step in buying out and saying farewell to one of their veterans, placing 35-year-old Glen Murray and his $4.15 million salary on waivers.

"It was really, really difficult," said general manager Peter Chiarelli. "Muzz is a very good person. He meant a lot to the room. It's something where you have to make hard decisions in this new system. Being put on waivers, it means that if you get taken by somebody else, we're prepared to accept that, and that's not a very good thing to hear, especially for someone who's served the time he has with us. It was a hard decision.

"It's not written in stone that he'll be bought out, but it is a step toward that. It's unfortunate but it's part of the game."

If Murray clears waivers by today's noon deadline, the Bruins can complete the buyout tomorrow, trimming $2,766,667 from their 2008-09 payroll. They must carry the remainder of Murray's $1,383,333 salary on their 2009-10 payroll.

Wideman's extension bumped the Bruins' cap number over the $56.7 million ceiling. The Bruins don't have to be below the ceiling until the start of the regular season, but the buyout window - an option available because Wideman filed for arbitration - opens tomorrow for a 48-hour period. Buyouts cannot be completed after the window closes.

Once the Bruins complete Murray's buyout, their payroll will be $55,469,999 for 23 players under contract.

Wideman, a restricted free agent who earned $600,000 in 2007-08, was acquired from St. Louis Feb. 27, 2007, for Brad Boyes (43 goals in 2007-08). Wideman was a healthy scratch on Opening Night against Dallas, but appeared in every regular-season match afterward. He scored 13 goals and had 23 assists in 81 games, all career highs. Wideman quarterbacked the No. 1 power-play unit, where he netted nine goals, and paired mostly with Zdeno Chara. Wideman had a plus-11 rating, second on the team behind the Boston captain.

But perhaps Wideman's most eye-opening contribution was his time on ice. Considered a high-risk defenseman, Wideman earned the trust of coach Claude Julien and averaged 25 minutes 9 seconds of ice time, 13th in the NHL. For most of the season, Wideman played through a groin injury he said healed during the offseason.

"They were quite hard on me," Wideman said of Julien and assistant Craig Ramsay. "Sometimes when I made a play that I probably shouldn't have and it worked out, they still let me know on the bench that they didn't want me making that on a regular basis. They were drilling that in my head over and over again. And getting to play with Chara for the majority of the season makes everybody look a little better."