Professional
Biega was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Upon graduation from university, on May 27, 2010, Biega was signed by the Sabres to a two-year contract. [5] He attended his first Sabres training camp, but was cut and sent to the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates. [6] On October 9, 2010 Biega made his professional debut playing with the Pirates, and on November 20, 2010, scored his first professional goal to help his team to a 2–1 win over the visiting Worcester Sharks. [7] He went on to play in 61 regular-season games with the Pirates during the 2010–11 AHL season and also played 12 playoff games during his rookie campaign. [4] Biega spent the entire 2011–12 season with the Rochester Americans, the new AHL affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. [8] He registered 5 goals and 25 points in 72 games and played in 3 playoff games with no points. [9]
On July 5, 2013, Biega agreed to a one-year contract as a free agent with the Vancouver Canucks. [9] He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Utica Comets for their inaugural season in 2013–14, appearing in a career-high 73 games for 22 points from the blueline. On July 1, 2014, Biega re-signed with the Canucks, on a one-year contract worth $600,000. He was called up to Vancouver after posting 10 points in 25 games with Utica. [10] Biega made his NHL debut with the Canucks on February 16, 2015, scoring his first NHL goal in a 3–2 win over the Minnesota Wild. [11] Biega's goal would be the game winner. [12] He finished the season with 7 games played for the Canucks, scoring the one goal. With the Comets, he finished with 3 goals and 19 points in 69 regular season games and four points in 16 playoff games en route to the Calder Cup final. [13]
Biega started the 2015–16 season with the Comets where he was named captain. [14] He was called up to the Canucks in mid-December and on December 20, 2015, Biega earned his first career assist. It came on a Jannik Hansen goal in a 5−4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers. [15] On February 2, 2016, Biega signed a one-way, two-year contract extension valued at $1.5 million. [16] At the start of the 2016–17 NHL season, Biega made the Canucks out of training camp, but only appeared in one game as a forward before being sent down to the Comets for a conditioning stint in November. [14] In 2017–18, Biega played 31 games with the Canucks, registering 6 assists. [17] On February 28, 2018, Biega was again signed to a two-year, $1.65 million contract extension by the Canucks. [17] Biega made the Canucks out of camp again at the start of the 2018–19 NHL season, but was sent down to Utica on October 18 not having played a game. [18] He was recalled on October 25 [19] and scored his first goal of the season and second overall for the Canucks in an overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on February 7, 2019. [20] He finished the season appearing in 41 games, scoring two goals and registering 16 points. [21]
On September 30, 2019, Biega was placed on waivers by the Canucks, prior to the start of the 2019–20 NHL season. He cleared waivers the next day. [22] On October 6, 2019, Biega was traded by the Canucks to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for David Pope. [23] He made his debut for the Red Wings on October 15, in a game against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks. [24] He finished the season with 3 points in 48 games with the Red Wings. [25] On March 9, 2020, Biega signed a one-year contract extension with the Red Wings. [26] During the pandemic-shortened 2020–21 season, Biega was placed on waivers for the purpose of transferring him to the Red Wings' taxi squad. [27] He finished the season with 3 points in 13 games with the Red Wings. [28]
On July 28, 2021, having left the Red Wings as a free agent, Biega was signed to a one-year, two-way contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. [28] Biega saw little action with the Maple Leafs, playing in only two games. [29] He made his debut for the Maple Leafs on January 1, 2022 against the Ottawa Senators. [30] He played in 31 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. On March 21, 2022, Biega was traded to the Nashville Predators for future considerations. [29] He was assigned to the Predators' AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. [31]
On December 19, 2022 Biega announced his retirement from professional hockey. [32]
