Joe Corvo

Did You Know?

• Corvo was arrested in November 2002 in Boston after grabbing a woman's buttocks in a restaurant, punching her, and kicking her when she fell.
• He pleaded guilty to assault and received a three-year suspended sentence.

Playing career

Joe Corvo first made a notable impression at the 1997 World Junior Championships in Switzerland, where his team finished second to Canada but he was recognized as the tournament’s top defenseman. He then spent three seasons at Western Michigan University from 1995 to 1998, playing alongside future NHLer Jamal Mayers. The Los Angeles Kings selected him in the fourth round of the 1997 NHL draft, and he debuted in the NHL during the 2002–03 season. Over three years with the Kings, his best campaign came in 2005–06, when he posted 14 goals and 26 assists for 40 points. In July 2006, he signed a four-year, $10.5 million deal as an unrestricted free agent with the Ottawa Senators. That October, he set a Senators franchise record for points by a defenseman in a single game, notching one goal and four assists against the Toronto Maple Leafs, earning first-star honors. The Senators reached the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals that season but fell to the Anaheim Ducks in five games. In February 2008, Ottawa traded Corvo and Patrick Eaves to the Carolina Hurricanes for Mike Commodore and Cory Stillman. Facing his old team for the first time on March 16, 2008, Corvo scored a hat trick, becoming just the third defenseman in Hartford Whalers–Carolina Hurricanes history to do so. Ottawa’s general manager later remarked he would not have traded Corvo if he had played that way for the Senators. Between the two teams that season, Corvo totaled 13 goals and 35 assists for 48 points. He spent nearly two seasons with Carolina before being traded to the Washington Capitals at the 2010 deadline for Brian Pothier, Oskar Osala, and a second-round pick in the 2011 draft. He debuted for Washington the next day against the Tampa Bay Lightning and finished the regular season with two goals and six points in 18 games. The Capitals were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Montreal Canadiens.