Beauts’ great Buie signs with Whitecaps

Corinne Buie returns home, signs with Minnesota Whitecaps

After a great deal of speculation, original NWHLer and free agent Corinne Buie has signed with the Minnesota Whitecaps for the 2020-21 season.

Buie, a two-time Isobel Cup Champion and Clarkson Cup Champion with the CWHL’s Boston Blades in 2015, spent the last four seasons with the Buffalo Beauts. She joins defender Kaleigh Fratkin as the second player in NWHL history to play for three different teams. She is also just the fifth player to sign with the Whitecaps this offseason, joining fellow All-Stars Allie Thunstrom, Amanda Leveille, Amanda Boulier, and Jonna Curtis.

This is a homecoming for the Beauts’ great. Buie is from Edina, Minnesota and was a finalist for Ms. Minnesota Hockey in 2010.

“To all my teammates, coaches, and the entire Buffalo Beauts organization: thank for you an incredible four years,” Buie said in the league’s release. “I’m so grateful for my time in Buffalo and so proud of what we accomplished together. To all the fans: thank you for your dedication and loyalty to the team and our sport. You helped make Buffalo a home for me. Now it is time for me to return to my true home, back where my hockey dreams first began. I’m excited for this new opportunity with the Whitecaps and ready for season six of the NWHL.”

In 2019-20, Buie scored six goals and picked up seven assists in 24 games, finishing sixth on the Beauts in scoring. One of the league’s great power forwards, Buie is one of nine skaters in the NWHL’s 25-goal club and is tied for eighth all-time in league scoring with 49 points in 90 games. She will add some size and grit to a Whitecaps team that has been defined by its collective experience and team speed through its first two seasons in the NWHL.

The 5-foot-9 veteran will be able to create space for Minnesota’s speedy forwards and will be an imposing net-front presence for the Whitecaps. It would not be surprising to see her play a big role on Minnesota’s second power play unit and provide some serious depth scoring for the team at even strength.