Pop quiz: What do you and Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Frank Corrado have in common?
Answer: You both have played the same number of NHL games this season. Zero.
In one of the Leafs’ more curious 2015-16 subplots, the club scooped the 22-year-old blueliner off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks back on Oct. 6 but in the two months since, he has spent the majority of his time in the press box.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock addressed the Corrado Conundrum Tuesday at Air Canada Centre, saying there is a plan for him to play.
“When we give a guy a go, we try to give him a bit of a go. Frankie’s going to get his go. He doesn’t need you guys lobbying for him,” Babcock said, a wry smile on his face.
“I know he’s here. We’ll make sure he gets in and gets playing.”
Allowing little, Babcock did say that the Leafs would not be sending Corrado to the AHL Marlies, for whom he did play seven games (and posted three assists) on a conditioning stint. But that was more than a month ago.
“Just because we haven’t shared it with you doesn’t mean we don’t have a plan,” Babcock said.
General manager Lou Lamoriello was similarly aloof when explaining Corrado’s delayed debut in Toronto.
“There’s always concerns, but there’s a time and a place for everything,” Lamoriello told Hockey Central at Noon last month.
“Right now the most important thing is what can we do here to get this team to play to the best of its abilities. In my opinion, you play exactly who you need to play to have the most success.”
Corrado continues to practice hard and wait patiently, for the most part. He admitted to the Toronto Sun that the situation was a little frustrating.
“There are some things that are hard for a player to understand,” Corrado said on Sunday.
“I could be in worse spots. That’s always the way you look at it. I’m in the NHL, playing for my hometown team. You just have to hope that at some point you get a chance and just be ready to make the most of it.”
