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Report: Leafs sign Franson to one year, $3.3 million deal

Toronto Maple Leafs v Boston Bruins - Game Seven

BOSTON, MA - MAY 13: Cody Franson #4 of the Toronto Maple Leafs shoots before scoring his second goal of the game in the second period against the Boston Bruins in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 13, 2013 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

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Though the club has yet to make it official, both TSN and the Toronto Star have confirmed the Leafs and Cody Franson have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $3.3 million deal.

This marks the third consecutive one-year deal Franson’s signed with the Leafs -- the first was a $1.2 million pact for the 2011-12 season, followed by the $2M contract he played on last year. With this new deal, Franson draws even with Stephane Robidas as Toronto’s second highest-paid blueliner, though it remains to be seen what fellow RFA Jake Gardiner nets with his pending deal.

At 26, Franson is coming off a year in which he posted career highs in assists (28) and points (33), but also finished with a team-worst minus-20 rating, though some of that had to do with playing big minutes (20:42 TOI average) on a team that wasn’t exactly a brick fortress defensively. It’ll be interesting to see how he fits next year on a revamped Leafs blueline -- gone are the likes of Carl Gunnarsson, Paul Ranger and Tim Gleason; in their place, the likes of Robidas and Roman Polak have been brought aboard.