Troy Stecher’s ice time this season was steadily rising. In the first game of the season, Stecher played just 12:41 against the Oilers; he played nearly that much in just half a game against the Red Wings. Unfortunately, he only played half the game, leaving midway through the second period with a painful-looking knee injury.
Stecher could barely put any weight on his left leg and hobbled his way to the bench and down the hallway to the locker room. On Tuesday, the Canucks confirmed that Stecher will miss 4-6 weeks.
Between Stecher and Alex Edler, that’s two key members of the Canucks defensive corps out for 4-6 weeks, one on each side of the ice. That means big minutes for the likes of Michael Del Zotto, Ben Hutton, Chris Tanev, and Erik Gudbranson, as well as an opportunity for Derrick Pouliot to prove himself with his new team.
More minutes for Gudbranson is a concern; the Canucks have been significantly out-shot with Gudbranson on the ice at 5-on-5 and is averaging the most shots against per hour of any Canucks defenceman. The biggest issue is his inability to facilitate zone exits with control of the puck.
Stecher’s injury also means regular minutes for Alex Biega.
Troy from Richmond (Steveston for you purists) looking like he hurt a knee pic.twitter.com/KVg4GgSI5E
— Wyatt Arndt (@TheStanchion) October 23, 2017
Alex Biega played 36 games in the 2016-17 season, averaging just over 13 minutes per game. Biega was forced into action due to injuries to fellow right-side defencemen Chris Tanev, Erik Gudbranson, and Philip Larsen throughout the year, and even stepped in as a fourth-line winger a few times.
In one key way, Biega is a perfect 7th defenceman: he's a coach's dream because you always know what you’re going to get from him, as he plays his heart out every single game. Regrettably, what you’re going to get from him isn’t particularly good.
One of the big reasons why you see Biega skating and working so hard is because he’s regularly chasing the play. He gets caught out of position and has to skate his hardest to get back into the play, or he loses the puck and has to engage in another unnecessary puck battle along the boards. Fans and coaches love him because of his work ethic and effort, but it’s indicative of some underlying issues.
In truth, Biega is an AHL defenceman. He’s consistent and reliable at that level, and sets the tone for the rest of the team with his high-energy, heart-on-his-sleeve style of play. At the NHL level, he’s below replacement-level.
Dawson Spriging’s work on creating a Goals Above Replacement (GAR) statistic is lost to the public for now as he has been hired for a sports analytics job, but we still have his data for previous seasons. And last season, Alex Biega was the worst defenceman to play a regular shift in the NHL according to GAR. Essentially, he was worse than a replacement-level player from the AHL, which isn't particularly surprising. He is, essentially, a replacement player from the AHL.
This season, Biega has played just one game, stepping in for Gudbranson when he was suspended. He played a little over 11 minutes and comported himself pretty well while being largely sheltered from the defensive zone. That was against a lousy Buffalo Sabres team; do the Canucks trust him enough to play consistently against tougher opponents?
There’s also the issue of Tanev and Gudbranson’s ability to stave off injury. Tanev has never played a full 82-game season in his career, finishing with just 53 games last season. Neither has Erik Gudbranson, who lasted just 30 games last season before undergoing wrist surgery. If one of Tanev or Gudbranson gets hurt while Edler and Stecher are out, can the Canucks rely on Biega to step into a second-pairing role?
The Canucks do have other options. Patrick Wiercioch got called up from Utica and, while he’s a left-handed shot, he’s played on the right side before. Evan McEneny and Jalen Chatfield are both right-side defencemen available for call-up from Utica, as is Philip Holm, a left-side defenceman who has experience on the right side as well.
Perhaps there’s nothing to be worried about: Biega can capably fill in on the third pairing in a sheltered role, and that might be good enough to get the Canucks through the next 4-6 weeks. But if Biega falters, we could see Wiercioch in the Canucks lineup for the first time.
