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Alex Biega

Nashville Predators Acquire Alex Biega

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The Nashville Predators are adding a bit of defensive depth, as Darren Dreger of TSN reports that they have acquired Alex Biega from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kevin Weekes of ESPN adds that the deal is for future considerations.

Biega, 33, has spent almost the entire season in the minor leagues, playing 31 games for the Toronto Marlies and just two for the Maple Leafs. A right-handed option with nearly 250 games of NHL experience, he shouldn’t be expected to hold a regular role in Nashville but does provide the kind of depth that many teams need during a playoff push.

Signed to a one-year, two-way contract with a cap hit of just $750K, the key here is that Biega has already cleared waivers and can be stashed in the minor leagues until needed.

For Toronto, the key is clearing out a contract slot ahead of today’s deadline. Before the deal they had already used 49 of 50 slots, meaning they would have been restricted if they wanted to make any more trades. Even with Rasmus Sandin dealing with an injury and Jake Muzzin still working his way back from a concussion, the Maple Leafs were very unlikely to use Biega at any point, making him completely expendable.

Rasmus Sandin, Mitch Marner Placed On Injured Reserve

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The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a new look lineup tonight, as several roster moves were made this morning to deal with notable injuries. Rasmus Sandin and Mitch Marner were both placed on injured reserve, while Joey Anderson was sent back to the minor leagues. Alex Biega, Kristians Rubins and Alex Steeves have been recalled. At today’s morning skate, Travis Dermott was also absent, while Petr Mrazek was back with the NHL group after his short AHL conditioning stint.

Sandin faces a few weeks on the shelf thanks to a Neal Pionk hit that earned a two-game suspension yesterday. Chris Johnston explained on TSN radio yesterday that the young Maple Leafs defenseman is expected to miss two to three weeks, but it looks more like three to four now according to Luke Fox of Sportsnet. That’s probably a good outcome given how serious the injury appeared, but it will still throw off the strong season Sandin was having as a full-time player.

Marner meanwhile could be out a week or two, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. The star forward collided with a teammate in practice a few days ago and has missed the last two games, both losses for the Maple Leafs. The team seemed a bit out of sorts without their top playmaker, who also logs big minutes on the powerplay and penalty kill. Marner had 21 points in 24 games before the injury. Both he and Sandin will need to miss at least seven days from when they last played.

Remember, the Maple Leafs are also going to be down Jason Spezza after his in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety is concluded this afternoon. Spezza retaliated for the Pionk hit by targeting the Winnipeg Jets defenseman with an ugly check of his own, and faces the possibility of a much longer suspension.

It appears as though both Rubins and Steeves will be making their NHL debuts this evening,

14 Players Clear Waivers

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Sunday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that all 14 names from yesterday have cleared waivers.

Saturday: As expected, it’s another busy day on the waiver wire with opening rosters being submitted to the NHL on Monday.  Chris Johnston of the Toronto Star and TSN reports (Twitter links) that the following 14 players are on waivers today:

D John Moore (BOS)
F Chris Wagner (BOS)
F Byron Froese (CGY)
F Justin Kirkland (CGY)
G Calvin Pickard (DET)
D Thomas Hickey (NYI)
F Richard Panik (NYI)
F Anthony Angello (PIT)
F Dylan Gambrell (SJ)
F Logan Brown (STL)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (STL)
D Alex Biega (TOR)
F Kurtis Gabriel (TOR)
D Michal Kempny (WSH)

As expected, today’s list is a little more interesting as teams get closer to making their final cuts with more notable players.  Several veterans are on the wire today, headlined by Kempny and Moore on the back end.  Both players are coming off injury-plagued seasons (Achilles for Kempny, hip for Moore) and could benefit from some regular action in the minors to get back into playing shape.  If they clear, Washington and Boston would only receive $1.125MM in cap relief; Kempny carries a $2.5MM AAV for this season while Moore is at $2.75MM for the next two seasons.

Up front, Panik and Wagner are a pair of veterans that have considerable NHL experience.  Panik split last season between the Capitals and Red Wings, picking up 13 points in 48 games.  Detroit is retaining half of his $2.75MM AAV, meaning that if he was claimed, the team that picks him up would only be carrying him at $1.375MM.  Wagner is in the second season of a three-year deal with a $1.35MM AAV and while his production tumbled last season to just five points in 41 games with the Bruins, he has been one of the more physical players in the league in recent years.  Again, if they clear, those teams would only get $1.125MM in cap space.

Brown’s stint with his hometown team didn’t go particularly well evidently with him being on waivers so quickly.  As part of the trade from Ottawa, the Senators will send a fourth-round pick to the Blues if the 2016 first-round pick doesn’t play in 30 games with St. Louis.  All of a sudden, that pick looks a lot likelier to transfer.

Among the other forwards, Angello and Gambrell are somewhat interesting as well.  Angello played in 19 games on the fourth line with the Penguins last season, picking up four points along with 51 hits and actually carries a cap hit that’s $25K below the league minimum which could be appealing to cap-strapped teams.  As for Gambrell, he has played in 99 games with the Sharks over the last two seasons and logged over 16 minutes a game for them last season.  He was a highly-speculated candidate to be selected by Seattle in expansion although they went with Alexander True instead.  Gambrell makes $1.1MM this season and is controllable through arbitration through 2024.

Expansion Primer: Detroit Red Wings

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Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.

The last time we gathered here to determine the Detroit Red Wings’ expansion draft considerations, the team was in a steep downward decline. Yet they still ended up losing a bit of a diamond in the rough, as the Vegas Golden Knights selected forward Tomas Nosek. Nosek’s been a contributor in a bottom-six role every season in Vegas’ history, robbing Detroit of some quality depth. Now, with Detroit having hit the rock-bottom of their rebuild, their expansion situation looks fairly clear-cut this time around. With a lot of young talent exempt (and no Jimmy Howard/Petr Mrazek goalie controversy), the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman are in a good position coming into 2021’s Seattle expansion draft.

Eligible Players (Non-UFA)

Forwards:
Riley Barber, Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Dylan Larkin, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik, Vladislav Namestnikov, Michael Rasmussen, Givani Smith, Evgeny Svechnikov, Hayden Verbeek, Jakub Vrana

Defense:
Dennis Cholowski, Danny DeKeyser, Christian Djoos, Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, Troy Stecher

Goalies:
Kaden Fulcher, Thomas Greiss

Notable Unrestricted Free Agents

F Valtteri Filppula, F Sam Gagner, F Luke Glendening, F Darren Helm, F Bobby Ryan, D Alex Biega, D Marc Staal, G Jonathan Bernier

Notable Exemptions

F Joseph Veleno, F Filip Zadina, D Jared McIsaac, D Moritz Seider, G Filip Larsson

Key Decisions

The key decisions start with Detroit’s young forward group. They’ll undoubtedly be going with the seven forwards/three defensemen protection scheme. Four of those forward spots are relatively clear-cut, with Larkin, Bertuzzi, Fabbri, and recent acquisition Vrana being protection locks. That leaves three spots remaining, but with a mix of four veterans and young forwards competing for them.

The veteran of those candidates is Namestnikov. Signed to a two-year, $4MM deal prior to 2020-21 to provide some veteran presence during their rebuild, Namestnikov had his worst offensive season to date with just 17 points in 53 games. His defensive metrics were mediocre, which is on-brand for the versatile Russian forward. Detroit was Namestnikov’s fourth team since the beginning of 2019-20, and if left unprotected, Seattle could be his fifth.

However, there’s a trio of three younger forwards who could also vie for those spots. Erne, Rasmussen, and Svechnikov all looked good with the Wings this season. It was an especially important season for Svechnikov, who’s struggled with frequent injuries. He rebounded this year for eight points in 21 games while posting incredibly impressive possession metrics. Erne had a nice rebound season after a ghastly 2019-20 performance, scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 45 games. While his 15.5% shooting rate doesn’t scream sustainability, the 26-year-old showed nice flashes this season. There’s also Rasmussen, who’s still a developing project despite already playing in over 100 NHL contests. Drafted ninth overall in 2017, Rasmussen’s now totalled 30 points in 102 NHL games, including 12 points in 40 games last season. He’s consistently posted decent possession results, suggesting that the goal-scoring touch he had in juniors could be coming.

Detroit faces a similar quandary on defense with three names fighting for two spots. Hronek’s protection is a foregone conclusion, but Stecher, Cholowski, and Lindstrom are names that could fall into those last two spots.

Stecher sits as effectively a more impressive Namestnikov. Joining Detroit as a free agent prior to this season, Stecher settled nicely into a top-four role, posting admirable defensive metrics considering the hacked-together situation that was Detroit’s defense. However, like Namestnikov, he’s under contract for just one more season and there’s no guarantee that he stays. There’s also a pair of younger defenders in Cholowski and Lindstrom. Cholowski was a first-round pick in 2016 and showed great potential in his 2018-19 rookie season, but has stagnated at all levels since then. Detroit is willing to play the wait-and-see game with the young defender, who may see a full-time role again next year after just 16 games played in 2020-21. Lindstrom’s a year younger and doesn’t have as much upside, but he’s cobbled together four assists in 29 NHL games and could have third-pairing potential.

Projected Protection List

F Tyler Bertuzzi
F Adam Erne
F Robby Fabbri
F Dylan Larkin
F Michael Rasmussen
F Evgeny Svechnikov
F Jakub Vrana

D Dennis Cholowski
D Filip Hronek
D Troy Stecher

G Thomas Greiss

Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist

When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined.  Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined.  In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.

Forwards (3): Vladislav Namestnikov, Frans Nielsen, Richard Panik
Defensemen (1): Danny DeKeyser

There are very few pickings here that the Kraken would be interested in, and Detroit is likely to emerge from the expansion draft unscathed. While Detroit will have some depth forwards exposed, Seattle can likely find cheaper and better options elsewhere. Seattle could end up taking an AHL skater with limited upside like Lindstrom or Smith, or take a pending UFA like Glendening if they really don’t like any of their options.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.  Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.

Four Other Players Placed On Waivers Sunday

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April 12: Mete and Vatanen were both claimed, but the other four players all cleared waivers. They can now be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

April 11: While Victor Mete and Sami Vatanen headline the waiver wire Sunday, the last day to put players on the waiver wire before the trade deadline, four other players were also waived, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Among those are Detroit Red Wings defensemen Danny DeKeyser and Alex Biega as well as Nashville’s Josh Healey and Ottawa’s Cody Goloubef.

For DeKeyser and Biega, this is the standard waivers practice as both players have seen the waiver wire earlier this year. While playoff teams may be interested in a veteran like DeKeyser, there is no chance that a team would take a chance on the 31-year-old considering he has a $5MM AAV this year as well as next year. No team will be willing to take on the injury-prone defenseman for a second year. DeKeyser, however, has been healthy this season, playing in 31 games for Detroit with two goals and six points. Biega, on the other hand, has just appeared in four games for the Red Wings this season, but has served mainly as a taxi squad player and emergency replacement player. The 33-year-old has one assist this season.

As for the other two — Healey and Goloubef — both must be placed through waivers after each signed an NHL contract earlier in the day. Healey signed a one-year deal with the Predators, while Goloubef signed an NHL deal with the Ottawa Senators.

Toronto’s Aaron Dell, Jason Spezza Among Those On Waivers

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Jan 18: Spezza, Biega, Kellman, and Ritchie have all cleared waivers. Dell was claimed by the New Jersey Devils.

Jan 17: The Toronto Maple Leafs responded after losing rookie forward Nicholas Robertson to injury Saturday by placing a couple of their players on waivers Sunday. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reports that third-string goaltender Aaron Dell and veteran forward Jason Spezza are among those on waivers. Detroit Red Wings’ Alex Biega and San Jose Sharks’ Joel Kellman also made the list. The Calgary Flames also placed forward Brett Ritchie on waivers after signing him to a one-year deal earlier today.

Toronto’s roster moves all comes back to Saturday night’s injury of rookie forward Nick Robertson, who is expected to miss time. Because of the lack of cap space to recall a replacement for Robertson (other than Travis Boyd), the team was forced to make some roster moves, including risking losing Aaron Dell, who the team has been holding on to as a third-string goalie, waiting for the goalie market needs die down to pass him through waivers. There was talk that Toronto might be able to use the new emergency recall rule, but The Athletic’s James Mirtle shot that down, reporting that rule can only be used in COVID-19 cases. Unfortunately for Toronto, the team will likely lose the former San Jose Sharks’ netminder. Dell, who struggled behind San Jose’s weak defense last season, was brought in to serve as a third option in case either Frederik Andersen or Jack Campbell struggle or are injured during the season. He will almost assuredly be claimed with many experts suggesting that he will be claimed by either the Edmonton Oilers or New Jersey Devils.

Spezza is another interesting candidate. Teams might be interested in bringing in the veteran forward, but Johnston reports that Spezza isn’t interested in playing for any other team other than Toronto as he wants to remain close to his family. The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel reports that the 37-year-old was ready to retire in the offseason had the Leafs not brought him back. He has played in all three of the Maple Leafs games so far this season. NOTE: Spezza’s agent Rick Curran told Johnston that Spezza will retire if he is claimed by any other NHL team.

Biega is no stranger to waivers, but the 32-year-old has served as a sixth/seventh defenseman for years. He played in 49 games with the Red Wings last year and would make a good candidate for the taxi squad as well. He has not appeared in either of the Red Wings two games this year. Kellman appeared in the Sharks’ first game of the season, but was a healthy scratch Saturday and now looks headed for the taxi squad as well. The 26-year-old scored seven points in 31 games for the Sharks last season.

NHL Requests Further Salary Deferral From Players In 2020-21

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As the NHL continues to work with the NHLPA’s Return to Play Committee on plans to begin the 2020-21 season, the league has requested more financial concessions from the players. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the NHL is seeking an additional 13% of salary deferral on 2020-21 player salaries. This is in addition to a 10% deferral and 20% escrow written into the Collective Bargaining Agreement for the 2020-21 season.

The league’s request means that players would see 23% of their salary, post-escrow, deferred to the future in order to help owners with the reality of reduced revenue in another season impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. For those who like equations, that means players would be paid y=.77*(.8x), with x being the player’s total compensation in 2020-21. For those who dislike equations, they would be making about 62% of their salary this season, at least for those whose signing bonuses do not exceed 62% of their total compensation. Brooks writes that he is unsure whether this request is an ultimatum by the league or a starting point for negotiations. It is also unclear if the additional 13% of deferred salary would be treated the same as the initial 10%, which will be paid out to each player in three equal installments in 2022, 2023, and 2024.

ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski adds that league sources have stated that under no circumstances will owners pay their players for a full 82-game season when it seems like a near certainty that the 2020-21 campaign will be considerably shortened. Of course, the existing 10% of salary deferral is already paying players for the equivalent of a 74-game season. An additional 13% of salary deferral would still pay players the equivalent of a 63-game schedule, which seems fair considering the minimum number of games has reportedly been set at 48 by the league while the hope is that it will be closer to 60 games. In either case, players will still receive their salary beyond what they would be paid on a per-game basis.

If deferred salary is still up for negotiation, the two sides need to get moving on hammering out the details. If the league hopes to begin on New Year’s Day, players have just a matter of weeks to return to their NHL cities to quarantine before training camps can open in December. There are still a lot of details to be worked out and the owners’ financial concerns are just one small part.

Fortunately, the two sides have been in communication and it seems the NHL and NHLPA have been in agreement on many goals and possible terms for a return to play. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun adds that the NHLPA’s player representatives on the Return to Play Committee are as follows: David Backes, Darren Helm, David Savard, Justin Faulk, Lars Eller, Sam Gagner, Justin Abdelkader, Ian Cole, Zach Hyman, Ron Hainsey, Claude Giroux, Ryan Dzingel, Andrew Copp, Alex Biega, Chris Kreider, Mark Scheifele. Hopefully this group can work with the league to get NHL hockey back as soon as possible and in a format that is safe and effective for the coming season.

Red Wings Sign Alex Biega To A One-Year Extension

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Monday: The Red Wings have officially announced the one-year contract extension.

Sunday: Alex Biega had to start the season in the minors but after an early trade to Detroit, he was recalled in late October and has been there ever since.  Clearly, the Red Wings like what they’ve seen from him as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year, $875K contract extension.  It’s a one-way contract and represents a small raise on his current $825K AAV.

The 31-year-old has played in 48 games with Detroit since they acquired him from Vancouver and has held his own, logging over 16 minutes a night.  While his offensive contributions have been minimal (just three assists), he has provided a physical presence from their third pairing and leads all Detroit blueliners in hits with 111.

Biega is a veteran of 227 career games between the Canucks and Red Wings despite not making his NHL debut until his age-26 season.  He’ll likely get a chance to battle for a depth role on Detroit’s back end next season but if he doesn’t make it, he would represent a serviceable recall option in the minors if he passes through waivers unclaimed which is something he did at the beginning of the year in Vancouver.

Red Wings Place Four On Injured Reserve

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The Detroit Red Wings will undergo a massive roster overhaul before their next game, which is just their third of the season. Ansar Khan of MLive.com was the first to report that Detroit has placed four players on injured reserve and recalled four others to replace them. Forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Frans Nielsen and defensemen Jonathan Ericsson and Trevor Daley will all hit the shelf. In their stead, forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Ryan Kuffner and defenseman Oliwer Kaski have been recalled from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins while recently-acquired defenseman Alex Biega will remain in Detroit rather than report to the minors.

The Red Wings will have a very different look when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday, although not all that different. Athanasiou and Ericsson have yet to suit up for the team this season as they have both been fighting lingering injuries. In fact, Athanasiou’s IR placement is retroactive to September 20th, meaning he can be activated as soon as he is ready. Ericsson, Daley, and Nielsen will have to sit for at least seven days. Daley and Nielsen both left Detroit’s contest with the Dallas Stars on Sunday with injuries that apparently are more serious than originally thought.

However, this sudden rash of injuries does allow for the Red Wings to take a closer look at some of their depth players. Most notable is Biega, who was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks late last night, likely with these injuries in mind. The 31-year old defender played in 41 games for the Canucks last year, recording a career-high 16 points. Detroit has good depth on the back end in Grand Rapids, but Biega is the most experienced option and could work his way into a regular role with Detroit. Kaski is also an interesting figure on the blue line. The talented 24-year-old Finn was a near point-per-game scorer in the Liiga last season and may already be NHL-ready. Up front, Svechnikov is a name known by many, even though he missed all of last season with an injury. The 2015 first-rounder was once considered a surefire future Red Wing and he is out to prove he can still reach that expectation. Kuffner is looking to do the same; he got a taste of the NHL last season after wrapping up a dominant college career at Princeton University and wants to show that he is a player that belongs at the top level. So, while injuries to core players are never a positive, this could be an exciting time for Red Wings fans to witness a group of players who all want to win a regular spot in the Detroit lineup well past when their fallen teammates return to action.

Vancouver Canucks Trade Alex Biega

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After he failed to make the team and was sent to the minor leagues, Alex Biega is now on his way to a new team. The Vancouver Canucks have traded the veteran defenseman to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for David Pope. Biega cleared waivers earlier this month and can be assigned directly to the AHL.

There just wasn’t room for Biega on the Canucks this season, after adding Tyler Myers, Jordie Benn, Quinn Hughes and Oscar Fantenberg to the blueline. The 31-year old played 41 games for the team last season and actually set a career-high in point with 16, but needed a fresh start if he was ever going to get back to being a full-time NHL option. In Detroit, Biega will have to keep fighting for that opportunity as they too have some young players taking on bigger roles. On the final year of his current deal and earning $825K no matter where he plays, Biega could be kept with the NHL club as an extra defenseman or brought up if injuries occur.

Pope’s inclusion in the deal really only represents a way for the Red Wings to even out the contracts. The 25-year old winger split last season between the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL and Toledo Walleye of the ECHL, totaling seven points in 35 regular season games. A very strong playoffs with the Walleye is encouraging, but with just one year left on his entry-level deal it’s hard to imagine Pope ever plays a meaningful role for the Canucks.

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