Maple Leafs claim Corrado; Biega and Vey reassigned to Comets

Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

Frank Corrado is no longer a member of the Vancouver Canucks organization.

The 22-year-old right-handed shooting defender, a fifth-round pick at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, was placed on waivers on Monday in order to make room on the 23-man roster for surprising 22-year-old left-handed shooting defender Ben Hutton. He was claimed right at the top of the waiver priority order by the Toronto Maple Leafs and it seems unlikely they were the only team that put in a claim. Corrado, a native of Woodbridge, ON, is going home.

Though the Canucks failed to get Corrado through waivers, they did manage to sneak Linden Vey through. He’ll help offset the offseason departure of ace AHL playmaker Cal O’Reilly. Alex Biega and his big AHL salary similarly passed through waivers.

Corrado, 22, was the youngest player on the waiver wire by 416 days. His fate may have been sealed back in 2013 when the club opted to burn a year of his entry-level deal and his exemption from waivers (a move that didn’t work out, but which I supported at the time). In the two ensuing seasons with the Canucks, Corrado never managed to establish himself as a regular for the club, although his poorly timed injury – he hurt himself immediately before everyone on the Canucks blue line got hurt in February – didn’t help.

In limited action with the Canucks, Corrado was an effective NHL players. A right-handed shooting defenseman with a distinct defensive profile to his game, Corrado has the speed and the defensive awareness to develop into an effective second pair defender in my opinion, with some utility on the penalty kill. He’s still young and still has a good deal of upside, so this is a good pickup for the Maple Leafs.

We won’t belabour the point beyond this, but the Canucks had other options and could’ve avoided waiving Corrado. That the Canucks decided not to protect Corrado is mystifying. It’s perhaps a reflection of their strict ‘merit-based approach’ to training camp, or perhaps a reflection of them wanting to give a young player whom they didn’t see a future for in Vancouver an opportunity to flourish elsewhere. It seems wasteful that they were unable to recoup an asset for Corrado’s services though. 

There’s been a lot written about Vancouver’s lack of depth along the blue line in recent months, and one might reasonably argue that the club couldn’t afford to lose a promising 22-year-old defender. If we’re discussing asset management, it’s probably also worth noting that the club has now dealt Gustav Forsling for Adam Clendenning, traded Clendenning this summer, and have now lost Corrado on waivers – further depleting an area of need in the system.

While Corrado was claimed, it’s a marginal surprise that Vey made it through, and a pleasant one. 

Vey hasn’t impressed at the NHL level and may never be more than a replacement level NHL piece, but the Canucks’ newfound centre depth is built on the principal that Adam Cracknell can be useful (far from a foregone conclusion) and that Jared McCann will continue to impress in the regular season (another long-shot bet). It’s not a stretch to imagine that the club will need Vey at some point this season.

And the same goes for Biega. Biega is an elite defensive defenseman at the AHL level and a serviceable depth guy at the NHL level. It seems likely that he’ll spend some time in Vancouver this upcoming season.