PHILADELPHIA – Restructuring the Toronto defence was primary in the objectives of Maple Leafs management as they strode into the busiest stage of a lengthy offseason. Cam Newton Womens Jersey . And on the final day of draft weekend, they took the first step toward doing just that. Carl Gunnarsson, selected with the 194th overall pick at the draft in Columbus seven years earlier, was dealt to St. Louis on Saturday morning for thick Czech defenceman and longtime Blue, Roman Polak. He is the first addition to a roster that promised to change following another late season meltdown. Adjustment to a mismatched and ineffective back-end was a must for the Leafs, who finished near the league basement defensively last season – yielding more shots against than any other club. Polak, while not an upgrade to the steady, but increasingly over-taxed Gunnarsson, does offer a different kind of presence to the Toronto defence, something brawnier and edgier for head coach Randy Carlyle, if not quite better. Gunnarsson, it was ultimately deemed, could be replaced on the top pairing with something similar internally. "We like our defence individually," general manager Dave Nonis said after the final round of the draft was completed on Saturday afternoon, "[but] we didnt necessarily like how they fit together last year. We wanted to move some pieces and change the look, rebuild it a little bit. I wouldnt say its a major overhaul by doing something like this, but it does give us a different element and its a player we didnt really have." Maybe more significant is how the trade promises to open up further opportunity for the clubs two top guns on defence: Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner. By removing Gunnarsson – who teamed with Dion Phaneuf on left side of the top pair – and adding the right-handed Polak, the Leafs opened up room for Rielly and Gardiner to become more prominent members of the defence. Rielly should move from a place on the bottom pair to something more substantial in the top-four. Gardiner, who led the team in even-strength ice-time, might be the one to replace Gunnarsson on the top pair. "Those guys are going to have to take steps forward," Nonis said of the promising duo. "It might be a lot to ask for Morgan a little bit in his second year, but he made some pretty big strides last year and we would expect that hell take some more next [year]. And I think Jake is a good possibility [of doing the same] as well." Left-handed shots, Rielly and Gardiner were both forced to play the right side often last season – nearly the entire season for the rookie – due to the rarity of right-handed defenders on the Toronto defence (Gardiner, specifically, struggled with the change and eventually had to move back to the left). The addition of the 6-foot-1, 227-pound Polak will ease that glut and allow more options for Carlyle. The Blues, who ranked third in the league defensively a year ago, employed Polak in shutdown capacities as well as on their second-ranked penalty kill. He was known in St. Louis as a fierce, physical competitor willing to play through injury. The 28-year-old, who has two years remaining on a five-year contract ($2.75 million cap hit), led the Blues defence in hits and finished second in blocked shots. "Hes a tough guy to play against," Nonis said of Polak, picked in the sixth round of 2004 Draft. "If you look at the minutes he plays he often plays against teams top players. He is very physical, hes very strong. I think theres a perception that because hes so big hes not mobile, I dont think thats true at all. We think that one of his strengths is his skating ability. Hes going to provide a little bit of edge." The fifth overall pick in 2012, Rielly had a fine first season in Toronto, demonstrating improvement with each passing month. He finished with 27 points in nearly 18 minutes of nightly work, emerging as one of the Leafs top possession players in 73 games. It remains to be seen whether he can climb another rung as a sophomore next season though the organization is certainly hopeful based on all that they saw a year ago. "We are hoping that he improves next year," said Nonis. "He may not. He might go through a year where hes not quite ready to go up the lineup, but were comfortable that hes going to get there and hes going to be an impact player and were going to give him an opportunity to do that." Gardiner, meanwhile, finished a rollercoaster third season on a high. He was easily the teams best defenceman down the stretch of another alarming late season collapse, totaling five goals and 14 points in the final 21 games. "Jakes going to have times where [the media] sitting below me in the press-box will hear me smacking on the wall, but the fact is hes got God-given ability that you just cant teach," Nonis said of the 23-year-old. "I think hes getting the other part of his game under control. The last half of the season the turnovers and some of the mistakes he was making earlier were decreasing … He did come a long way." Nonis expects the Leafs to be active at the outset of free agency on July 1st. He was inclined to add another defenceman to the mix, while stating his acceptance to the status quo if furthers upgrades were unavailable. Gunnarsson had mixed feelings after a five-year stay in Toronto. He received word of the trade shortly after 11 a.m. on Saturday morning and was "kind of shocked". "I didnt expect it," he told TSN.ca, still piecing together the emotions of his first trade in the NHL. "Sucks leaving Toronto…its been great." Jerricho Cotchery Jersey . Tsonga will take on Robin Haase of the Netherlands for a place in Sundays final, while second-seeded Tommy Haas of Germany faces Lukas Rosol of Czech Republic in the other semifinal. Kawann Short Jersey . The free agent wide receiver intends to explore his NFL options in the spring prior to talking with the Argos about a new deal. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Karri Ramo made 26 saves for the Flames, who have won their last three road games. Matt Moulson scored for the Sabres, while Jhonas Enroth made 24 saves in the loss. Stajans overtime winner came just 42 seconds into the period, as his wrist shot beat Enroth to the goalies left. Byron had two points against the team that drafted him in 2007. The teams were scoreless in the third period when Zemgus Girgensons made a strong rush down the right side of the Flames zone before sliding a backhand pass into the slot. Moulson shot it by Ramo at the 5:40 mark for his 11th goal of the season and his first in six games. The Flames tied the game less than 3 minutes later when defenceman Chris Butler picked up the puck behind the Buffalo net and passed to Byron in front, who scored his first goal of the season. Butler and Byron were traded from the Buffalo to Calgary at the 2011 NHL Draft for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik and a draft pick. The Sabres came close to opening the scoring nearly 11 minutes into the game, when Ramo lost sight of the puck in his crease. Matt Stajan knocked the net off its moorings before Ville& Leino could score. Mike Tolbert Womens Jersey. Calgary scored in the final minute of the first period, but the goal was disallowed and the Flames were assessed a penalty for too many men. Girgensons and Tyler Myers both put shots off the goal post in the second period as both teams struggled to find quality scoring chances. Enroth was at his best during the second period, stopping 13 Flames shots, but his finest moment came with a glove stop of Joe Colborne shortly after Buffalo took the lead. Matt DAgostini had a chance to put the Sabres up with under four minutes to play before shooting the puck into the glove of a prone Ramo. The Sabres earned five power plays, but their 26th-ranked power play could not produce a goal. Calgary also struggled with the man advantage, as Buffalo killed off all four of its penalties. Marcus Foligno took three minor penalties in the game. A first round pick of the Sabres in 2012, Girgensons now has five points in his last seven games. NOTES: The Sabres recalled LW Matt Ellis from their American Hockey League affiliate in Rochester before the game as Cody Hodgson missed his second game with a lower body injury ... Flames RW David Jones played his 300th career game ... Buffalo also scratched healthy defenceman Mark Pysyk and centre Luke Adam. ' ' '
