A high-speed transmission circuit comprises, as part of a signal path, a connector pin disposed on a pad that comprises an unused pad region. The unused pad region is not considered part of the signal path but is part of a resonant sub-circuit. In various embodiments, by properly adjusting the dimensions of the pad region and other structures in the high-speed transmission circuit, resonant frequencies of the sub-circuit are shifted to a frequency range that is outside of the frequency range of interest in the signal path, thereby, reducing insertion loss and increasing signal integrity without compromising mechanical stability.