During his time as a depth defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks, Alex Biega has earned the praise of his coach and those in management.
On Monday, that culminated with the 27-year-old Biega reportedly inking a two-year, $1.5 million deal, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The Canucks have yet to officially announce the deal.
Biega was a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. He was recalled to Vancouver from the AHL last season, spending seven games with the Canucks, scoring his first NHL goal.
This season, he’s been in Vancouver for 25 games. He’s clearly left a favorable impression on those in the organization, even if he’s not a point producer with four assists.
“He has continued to improve and when we sent him down last year it was: ‘I deserve to be here (NHL) and belong here,’” Canucks president Trevor Linden told The Province last month.
“He worked extremely hard and was a leader there (Utica) and he has proved it. He plays hard and wins pucks battles.
“He has come in the hard way. I had it kind of handed it to me — you can screw it up — but here you go and I knew that. But he has worked his tail off to be here and he’s a guy you want in your room.”
