Free agent Kevin Bieksa has agreed to join Team Canada for the Spengler Cup. Bieksa is a right-handed defenseman. He is 37-years old and a 13-year NHL veteran. Bieksa is hoping that a strong performance in international competition could earn him another chance at the pros.
When your country calls…you answer. Honour to represent 🇨🇦 again along side some friends and old teammates. #Spengler Special thanks to @AnaheimDucks for the help and support in preparing!!!! pic.twitter.com/cMUG3XJUT3
— Kevin Bieksa (@kbieksa3) December 18, 2018
Kevin Bieksa Signs On for International Play
Kevin Bieksa is a known NHL Veteran. He has played thirteen years. Ten of those years were with the Vancouver Canucks, which saw him go to the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in 2011. They lost to the Boston Bruins that year. The past three years Bieksa has played with the Anaheim Ducks.
Kevin Bieksa has 63 goals, 215 assists for 278 points in 808 career NHL games. He also has scored 10 goals and 30 points in 86 career Stanley Cup Playoff games. Last season, he played just 59 games and had eight assists. He also added 83 minutes in penalties. When it comes to advanced analytics Kevin Bieksa shows very poorly. He posted a 41.49 Corsi For Percentage with a -9.22 Corsi Rel. That is among worst in the league for a full-time defenseman. However, he is known to be a physical, big-body player.
What This Means
Kevin Bieksa will be a key figure on Canada’s entry into the annual Spengler Cup holiday tournament. Despite not agreeing to a contract this off-season, Bieksa is not willing to retire and told Elliotte Friedman that he was hoping to get back into the NHL, and was willing to wait until the 2019-20 season to do so. A strong performance in Switzerland could see teams become interested in the veteran.
Last year he averaged 18:01 minutes a game at all situations. He averaged roughly two minutes a game on the penalty kill last season. Bieksa adds a veteran presence with leadership in the room. He has played in 86 Stanley Cup Playoff games on top of his 800 regular season games.
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