Toronto Maple Leafs: What's The Plan For Frank Corrado?
Do the Toronto Maple Leafs have a plan for Frank Corrado – other than giving him free tickets to every game?
As the Toronto Maple Leafs continue their 2016-2017 campaign, Frank Corrado continues to watch from the sidelines.
Corrado isn’t sitting on the side because of his play, because he hasn’t been given the chance to play this year. After a 2015-2016 season that saw him suffer much of the same fate over the first half of the year things were supposed to be different for Corrado.
He played well during his 39 game stint last season but it hasn’t translated into opportunity for this season, which is unfortunate given the state of the Leafs defensive group.
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There’s a chance that the Leafs have an able-bodied defender capable of playing equal or better than Matt Hunwick and Roman Polak, but for whatever reason he isn’t being given a chance to prove his worth.
The only game Corrado was able to get into this year was against the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins and, admittedly, it wasn’t his best showing. One game, especially against the Penguins, shouldn’t be the demise of a 23 year old defender.
The Leafs defensive group continues to struggle, yet Corrado can’t find a way into the lineup.
This is a self-inflicted problem by the Toronto Maple Leafs because of the Roman Polak signing. That contract jammed up an already crowded group of defenders. While minuscule in the grand scheme of the Leafs forward plan, it has hindered the development of Corrado.
It would be hard to find someone who can say – with a straight face – that whatever the Leafs are doing with Corrado is beneficial to his growth.
Right now, Corrado is being left stagnant in development at a crucial point of his career and the outcome isn’t likely to be good for the Leafs. Last year Corrado was a great waiver claim in theory, but they haven’t utilized him much since acquiring him.
If the Toronto Maple Leafs have no intentions on playing Corrado then he should be traded for a draft pick or another asset the Leafs can use – whether it’s with the Marlies or not – before the 23 year old becomes a wasted commodity.
If he continues to sit in the stands, he’ll amount to nothing more than an expensive dust collecting piece of hardware that might have been able to be polished and put on display. For all the good things the Leafs do, they seem to be lacking in the full scope of the development process for all of their assets.
What do you think? Should the Leafs be playing Corrado, or should they trade him for whatever they can get?
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