Corson battled ulcerative colitis and panic attacks to play 19 seasons in the NHL, fashioning a career as a solid two-way center who was valued for his contributions on and off the ice.

The Montreal Canadiens selected Corson, a center from Barrie, Ontario, with the No. 8 pick in the 1984 NHL Draft after he had 71 points (25 goals, 46 assists) with Brantford of the Ontario Hockey League. He played the next two seasons with Hamilton of the OHL, during which he earned a three-game call-up from the Canadiens early in the 1985-86 season.

Corson made the Canadiens in 1986-87, scoring 12 goals and 23 points in 55 games, and his offensive numbers improved steadily the next three seasons. He scored 26 goals in 1988-89, helping the Canadiens advance to the Stanley Cup Final, then had NHL career highs in goals (31), assists (44), points (75) and plus-minus rating (plus-33) in 1989-90, when he made his first of three appearances in the NHL All-Star Game.

The Canadiens traded Corson to the Edmonton Oilers on Aug. 27, 1992. He played three seasons with the Oilers, including getting 54 points (25 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games in 1993-94, before becoming a free agent and signing with the St. Louis Blues on July 28, 1995.

The Blues, in turn, would go on to trade him back to the Canadiens on Oct. 29, 1996.

Corson had his last 20-goal season with the Canadiens in 1997-98, when he finished with 55 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 62 games. In addition, he had two points (one goal, one assist) for Canada at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

Corson became a free agent after the 1999-00 season and signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on July 4, 2000. He played three seasons with Toronto and 17 games with the Dallas Stars in 2003-04 before retiring from the NHL with 693 points (273 goals, 420 assists) in 1,156 regular-season games, as well as 87 points (38 goals, 49 assists) in 140 Stanley Cup Playoff games.