Snapshots: Corrado, Tortorella, Rakell, Weise
Toronto blueliner Frank Corrado finds himself in a familiar situation this season and as Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes, it’s not a good one to be in. Last year, the Leafs claimed Corrado off of waivers just prior to the start of the season and then proceeded to keep him in the press box for the better part of two months, save for a brief conditioning stint in the AHL. The justification was that the team thought high enough of him to keep him on the roster and not risk losing him for nothing but that he wasn’t quite good enough to be in the lineup.
Fast forward to this year and history seems to be repeating itself for Corrado, who has been a healthy scratch in four straight games to start the year. Toronto is carrying eight defensemen to start the season and their other scratch – Roman Polak – made his season debut on Thursday, suggesting that Corrado once again sits eighth on the depth chart without much hope of getting into the lineup. The belief remains that if Toronto tried to assign him to the minors, he’d be claimed off of waivers, creating an identical situation to last season.
For the time being, it appears that like last season, it’s going to take an injury or two for Corrado to get into the lineup. Until then, he’ll have to bide his time and wait for a chance which is far from an ideal situation for a 23 year old who has yet to play 50 games in each of the last two years.
More from around the league:
- Today marks the one year anniversary of the Blue Jackets hiring John Tortorella as their new head coach. In that time, the team has played to a 34-35-8 record, notes Puck Rakers’ Tom Reed. Clearly, Columbus was looking for more of an immediate impact from Tortorella behind the bench and as a result, he is one of the coaches who came into the season firmly on the hot seat. The Jackets made a quick coaching change last season and if the team continues to struggle, GM Jarmo Kekalainen may be quick to pull the trigger again this year.
- The agent for Ducks center Rickard Rakell told Eric Stephens of the OC Register that the expectation is that Rakell will be able to report to the team sometime next week. Rakell is in the process of securing a P-1 visa which is required before he can resume skating with Anaheim. In the meantime, Rakell will continue to work out on his own in Sweden while waiting for the visa process to be completed which is expected to be shortly after the weekend.
- Philadelphia right winger Dale Weise has been suspended for three games as a result of an illegal check to the head on Anaheim defenseman Korbinian Holzer on Thursday night, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced. No penalty had been assessed on the hit during the game. Weise becomes the third Flyer to miss time due to suspension already this season, joining Brayden Schenn and Radko Gudas.
Atlantic Notes: Kane, Ceci, Leafs
After turning himself in for arrest on July 22nd, Evander Kane was charged with four counts of non-criminal harassment and one count of criminal trespass which, according to Kane’s attorney Paul Cambria, he plans to plead not guilty to. Now, police documents acquired by WKBW Buffalo show (via Deadspin) sworn statements from multiple women and the bouncer at the club which the incident occurred.
“He grabbed my hair. He pulled it so hard he pulled my whole head. It hurt a lot.” claims one of the women, who also says Kane tried to force her to kiss his hand. Another woman claims that this is “how he always treats women. Aggressive and disrespectful.”
Immediately after news of the incident broke, trade speculation surrounding the former fourth-overall pick heated up, with many believing that his hometown of Vancouver would be a natural destination as they look to rebuild their club. Canucks’ beat writer Jason Botchford (The Province) fanned the flames today when he told TSN 1040 “there is no doubt about it. The Vancouver Canucks are going to be in on Evander Kane. Ownership loves Kane. Jim Benning really likes Kane. Trevor (Linden) is maybe a little ambivalent, but he can be won over.” Kane has two seasons remaining at $5.25MM, and scored just 35 points last season.
- The Ottawa Senators addressed one problem today when they re-signed RFA Mike Hoffman to a four-year deal, and will now turn their attention to defenseman Cody Ceci. Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports what many have thought, that Ceci is amiably working towards a deal with the Sens and will work something out before camp starts. Garrioch goes on to report that the sides are working on a two-year deal at the moment, though obviously anything can change before ink goes to paper. Ceci scored a career-high 10 goals last season and is a big part of the Senators’ top four.
- Martin Marincin represents the Toronto Maple Leafs’ last remaining arbitration case after re-signing Peter Holland and Frankie Corrado on Monday. While Marincin offers some intrigue to Leaf fans because of his improved play last year as Morgan Rielly‘s partner, there is more to his signing than meets the eye. Three days after Marincin signs (or has the arbitration dispute resolved at his August 2nd hearing), the Leafs will be awarded a second buyout window which they could use to free up some more cap space. With Jared Cowen having filed a grievance over the attempted buyout from the first window (he maintains that he’s still rehabbing an injury sustained during the season, which would make him exempt from any buyout), the team may be waiting until it’s resolved in order to use the second buyout to terminate his contract. Joffrey Lupul, Milan Michalek, Colin Greening and Brooks Laich all remain as other possible options for the second buyout window, should the Maple Leafs choose to use it.
Toronto Re-Signs Frank Corrado
The Maple Leafs announced that they have avoided arbitration with restricted free agent defenseman Frank Corrado and have signed him to a one year contract. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports it’s a one-way deal worth $600K. It’s the second time today that they have reached a settlement before arbitration after agreeing to terms on a one year, $1.3MM deal with Peter Holland earlier in the day.
Corrado joined Toronto in early October of last season after they claimed him off of waivers from Vancouver. He seldom played in the early going and was a healthy scratch most nights but worked his way into the lineup towards the back half of the season. Overall, he wound up playing in 39 games for the Leafs, picking up a goal and five assists while averaging 14:27 per game. Corrado also played in seven games with the AHL Marlies on a conditioning stint, recording three assists.
The 23 year old blueliner was originally a fifth round pick of the Canucks (150th overall) in 2011. He made a name for himself early on in his career, playing for Vancouver as a 19 year old in their first round playoff exit. However, he never really gained much traction after that and spent the bulk of the next two seasons in the minor leagues. Overall, he has suited up in 67 career NHL games between the Canucks and Maple Leafs, scoring three goals while adding five assists.
Toronto still has one arbitration-bound player to deal with in fellow defenseman Martin Marincin. His hearing isn’t until Tuesday, August 2nd. The Leafs now have eight blueliners on one-way contracts for next season (soon to be nine with Marincin). Included among those are Stephane Robidas and Jared Cowen, whose health statuses are in the air.
[Related: Toronto’s Depth Chart]
Sunday Snapshots: KHL, Corrado, Schenn
The KHL’s Chinese expansion team, Kunlun Red Star, has signed three former NHLers prior to their first exhibition game, according to KHL insider Aivis Kalnins.
Sean Collins, a 27-year-old center from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, spent last season with the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate in Hershey and appeared in two NHL games with the Capitals; winger Alexandre Picard, a former 8th overall pick by Columbus in 2004, played 67 games with the Blue Jackets over parts of five seasons before spending the last four seasons in Switzerland; former Hurricanes defenseman Brett Bellemore also signed with Red Star after spending last season with Providence of the AHL.
Kunlun played its first exhibition game on Sunday morning versus Traktor Chelyabinsk in Finland.
More snapshots from around the hockey world:
- The Maple Leafs and their RFA defenseman Frankie Corrado have filed briefs ahead of their upcoming arbitration case. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports the team’s offers are worth $625K/ $125K on a two-way contract or $575K for a one-way contract. Corrado’s asking price is $900K.
- Newly-signed Coyotes defenseman Luke Schenn told the team’s website that he’s looking forward to being able to grow as a player in a market without as much added pressure as he’s previously experienced. Schenn has played most of his career in major hockey markets Toronto, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.