Maple Leafs claim Frank Corrado, as Canucks’ risk doesn’t pay off

The Vancouver Canucks surprised many when they dropped defensive prospect Frank Corrado on waivers, hoping to sneak the 22-year-old blueliner to the AHL.

No such luck: The Toronto Maple Leafs pounced on him, putting forward Richard Panik on waivers while claiming Corrado on Tuesday.

Taken in the fifth round of the 2011 Entry Draft, he made cameo appearances with the Canucks over the last three seasons, playing 28 games in total while seeing steady time in the AHL. He’s on a one-year bridge deal before becoming a restricted free agent again, with a cap hit of just $632,500.

Coach Mike Babcock said he broke down tape of Corrado, saying he “skates well, right-handed shot. I think he could help."

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Corrado comes with some legit hype, as he was the highest rated defenseman in the Canucks’ system according to Hockey’s Future.

Essentially, Ben Hutton played himself onto the Canucks’ roster in the preseason, showing great offensive upside. He’s the new hotness according to Daniel Wagner of Pass It To Bulis, while Corrado was the “old and busted” in this Men In Black-inspired metaphor.

From Wagner, defending Corrado:

He showed it in 2012-13, when he got the chance to play for the Canucks in the playoffs and held his own as a 19-year-old. He showed it in 2013-14, when he stepped into the lineup for 15 games. He showed it last season when he played 10 games for the Canucks and likely should have played more.

Last season, Corrado was the only defenceman that managed to post positive possession numbers while paired with Luca Sbisa, and not just positive -- he and Sbisa posted a 58.9% corsi percentage together. With the caveat that it was a small sample size, it was impressive enough that he should have been playing in the NHL.

Most importantly, writes Wagner, this didn’t have to happen:

With Chris Higgins injured, the Canucks could have temporarily sent Hutton down to the AHL, declared their 23-man roster by the Tuesday deadline, then put Higgins on long-term injured reserve and called Hutton back up. It would have meant carrying 8 defencemen on the roster, but with the risk of injuries, that’s not always a bad thing, particularly when it means that you don’t risk losing a 22-year-old, right-shooting, NHL-ready defenceman for nothing. 

And they did, to another Canadian team, whose waiver claim of Corrado has more than a few Canucks fans scratching their heads while tearing their hair out by this decision from GM Jim Benning.

Meanwhile, Lou Lamoriello just picked up a young defenseman. He has a habit of finding good ones.

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