01-02-2020, 08:02 AM
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. 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." 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Air Max 270 Australia . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. New Balance Shoes Australia . -- Each time the Utah Jazz threatened Memphis lead, the Grizzlies responded with defensive stops.HOUSTON -- When Lance Lynn began to struggle with his control, the Houston Astros made the most of the opportunity. Erik Bedard pitched six effective innings and the Astros used a four-run fourth to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Wednesday night. "That was huge for us to capitalize on that inning and really maximize that situation," said Jason Castro, who singled and scored in the rally. Bedard (3-3) allowed seven hits and walked one, but limited St. Louis to three runs. Josh Fields, Wesley Wright and Jose Cisnero then combined to pitch two hitless innings before Jose Veras worked the ninth for his 16th save. Veras yielded a one-out single to Jon Jay and then walked Matt Adams, but pinch hitter Daniel Descalso struck out and Matt Carpenter flied out to end the game. "They did a tremendous job," Houston manager Bo Porter said of his relievers. "Veras ran into a little bit of trouble but was able to make the necessary pitches in the ninth to get out of it and close it out." Allen Craig homered for the second straight night and Yadier Molina had a two-run shot for the Cardinals, who lost for the fourth time in five games. They dropped into a tie with surging Pittsburgh for the lead in the NL Central. Lynn (10-2) allowed five hits, walked four and struck out four over 7 2-3 innings for his first loss in four career starts in Houston. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said it looked as if Lynn lost his rhythm in the fourth. "It wasnt a good inning," Lynn said. "The hits werent the problem -- it was the walks. When you walk people, you get yourself in trouble, and thats what happened. I just didnt throw strikes." Molina and Craig helped the Cardinals get off to a nice start. Molina followed Carpenters leadoff single in the first with a drive to the Crawford Boxes in left field for his sixth homer. Craig had a leadoff drive in the fourth that bounced off the lights atop the wall in left field, extending the lead to 3-0. But Houston responded in the bottom half. Jose Altuve and Castro got it started with back-to-back singles for the Astros first hits of the game. Lynn then walked Chris Carter on four pitches to load the bases before sending a run home when he also walked Carlos Pena on four pitches. Carter leads the majors with 108 strikeouts this season, but Porter was impressed with his patience in the big inning. "His at-bats have gotten extremely disciplined from a standpoint of hes attacking the pitches that he should attack -- not expanding (the zonee) as often as he was earlier in the year, and hes putting together some really good at-bats," Porter said.dddddddddddd Castro came home when J.D. Martinez grounded into a fielders choice, and Brett Wallace then hit a tying RBI single. After another fielders choice, Brandon Barnes singled in Wallace to give Houston the lead for good. The Astros threatened again in the fifth, putting two runners on with two out, but Lynn retired Martinez to end the inning. That was the first of eight straight batters retired by Lynn, who began the day with a 3-0 record and a 2.00 ERA in three games in Houston. Fields retired the first two St. Louis batters in the seventh before left-hander Wright struck out Carpenter. Cisnero faced the heart of the Cardinals order in the eighth. He got Molina on a groundout before walking Carlos Beltran. He then struck out Craig and Matt Holliday to finish the inning. "That was one of those situations where he pretty much just bulled his neck and said: Im going to throw my best against anybody that steps in the box, and he was able to get it done," Porter said of Cisnero. "I felt like his fastball had really good life, and he actually pumped it up the last couple at 95." NOTES: Molina played first base for the second time in his career and the first since 2008. Matheny said Molina could "probably play just about anywhere on the infield." He said playing him at first base is a good way to give his legs a rest. "Hes caught more innings than any other catcher," Matheny said. "His body has been able to handle it so far, but its going to be a tough task. Were not trying to set any records here, were just reading his body and days like this are going to be able to keep one of the top bats in baseball in the lineup while not beating him up behind the plate." ... Both teams are off Thursday. Houston then begins a series with the Angels and St. Louis starts one at Oakland. ... The Cardinals activated RHP Fernando Salas (right shoulder) from the 15-day disabled list and optioned him to Triple-A Memphis. ... Houston RF Justin Maxwell, who got a mild concussion when he hit his head on the ground attempting to make a diving catch on Tuesday, passed his concussion tests on Wednesday. He should be ready to play when the Astros start their series with the Angels Friday. ... Houston RHP Ross Seaton cleared waivers and was outrighted to Double-A Corpus Christi. LHP Wade LeBlanc also cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. ' ' '