Photo Credit: Tom Szczerbowski/USA TODAY SPORTS

Nobody wants to get into a screaming match with Lou Lamoriello, do they? The Toronto Maple Leafs and Frank Corrado agreed to terms on a one-year contract this afternoon, avoiding the arbitration process by a day.

Who knows why this deal came a day early, while Holland’s came on the day of. Maybe Lou and the boys felt that they’d use the time originally dedicated to Holland’s hearing to drive to Vaughan to make Frankie an offer that he couldn’t refuse. Maybe Cliff Fletcher promised to tell Corrado’s parents some stories about the early 90’s Leafs. Maybe we’re just looking too much into and after taking the weekend off, Corrado and his agent got to business today. 

After all, it’s not like the two sides were very far apart. The reported difference was just $325,000, with Corrado asking $900,000 while the Leafs were willing to give him $625,000 on a two-way contract or $575,000 on a one-way deal. As we can see, though, Corrado didn’t exactly again more by waiting this long or triggering the arbitration process at all.

Here’s a look at every right-handed defenceman making under $900,000 under the age of 27 (excluding Entry-Level Contracts):

First off, Josh Manson’s contract is in “deal of the summer” territory; he might not score but those are great possession and zone transition numbers. But Corrado’s in pretty decent territory as well, especially given that these are three-year samples that include his rocky career start in Vancouver and his first few weeks of playing with the Leafs. Corrado’s best minutes came in a sheltered hour-or-so long spurt with Martin Marincin, where the Leafs took 60.7% of the shot attempts with them together on the ice. He also seemed to find a happy place with Morgan Rielly for a bit, not doing quite as well but helping Rielly perform better than he had with Matt Hunwick.

Overall, this is a frugal player for a useful player. Corrado still has a lot to prove, but the back of last season looked very promising. The Leafs get to take a chance on a player who makes so little that he can easily be stashed in the press box, while Corrado can cash in next year with a sizeable payday if he performs well.

Corrado joined the Leafs last October via a waiver claim, after being left up for grabs by the Vancouver Canucks. While injury recovery and an abundance of other options kept him out for much of the year, to the point of requiring a conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies, the 23-year-old managed to draw into the lineup for 39 games last season, picking up a goal and five assists.

Hey, with that $25,000 extra he squeaked out of waiting, maybe he can afford to grab a jersey or two for the family: