Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Joe Corvo came to town with a bit of a reputation, and it was not necessarily a good one. The all-knowing Ottawa press dubbed the Illinois native with the non-flattering nickname, "Uh oh, Corvo". But Corvo has been one of Carolina's best shut down defensemen since his arrival in Raleigh.
The Hurricanes traded away popular players in Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman in order to obtain the rights to Corvo, who has always been known to have excellent offensive instincts and a booming shot from the point on the powerplay. (Patrick Eaves was also included in the deal). Carolina was desperate for someone to quarterback the powerplay, but matched the blueliner up with Tim Gleason to create the team's number one pairing on defense as well.
Corvo was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round of the 1997 draft. After three seasons with them, Ottawa outbid the Kings for his services in 2006 and signed him as a free agent. He had a solid season and playoffs for the Sens his first year with the team, but fell out of favor and requested a trade the following season. (Now it seems fashionable to request a trade out of Ottawa).
The Good- Corvo is under-rated for his defensive abilities and has only had one season in the negative, (plus/minus), in his entire career. He does a good job on the powerplay and has an above average shot. He is creative with the puck and has a knack for scoring. Last season he took more shots, (213), than in any other season in his career.
The Bad- The defenseman is usually not very physical and shies away from body contact, sometimes to the point of giving up the puck. He can get daring with his passing and occasionally will get careless and turnover the puck. He can also be moody and will sometimes allow the negative flow of the game to affect his performance.
The Money- Corvo is in the final year of his contract which will pay him $2,750,000. He will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and he will be looking for a big payday. That could be good news for the Canes because he had his best season as a pro before he went on the market in 2005-06 when he had 14 goals, 26 assists, 40 points and finished with a (plus)+16. But the franchise will need to determine if they want to bring back the defenseman at a higher price next year.
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Here are the results of our previous exit polls:
Erik Cole - C
Sergei Samsonov - B
Anton Babchuk - B
Jussi Jokinen - B
Chad LaRose - A
Matt Cullen - B
Eric Staal - B
Rod Brind'Amour - C
Ryan Bayda - B
Niclas Wallin - C