Confirmed with Link: [TOR/STL] Leafs (retain $200k ?) trade Carl Gunnarsson and 94th pick for Roman Polak

[Future]

maybe players will stop parking themselves in front of Bernier so much/so easily

THIS!

When has Gunnarsson ever even attempted to clear the crease? The guy was soft as butter, he wouldn't even attempt it, he would just let the guy stand infront of Bernier. At least Gardiner would try to crosscheck the guy infront. Gunnarsson would pretend he wasn't even there.

 

[diceman934]

THIS!

When has Gunnarsson ever even attempted to clear the crease? The guy was soft as butter, he wouldn't even attempt it, he would just let the guy stand infront of Bernier. At least Gardiner would try to crosscheck the guy infront. Gunnarsson would pretend he wasn't even there.

The same guy who has been playing with a lot of pain the past 3 years....

Listening to some on here it's a wonder we were able to get rid of Gunnar at all....

 

[Sundinisagod]

I feel the same way, I just find it kinda irritating that in a lot of deals Nonis seems to be the guy always adding something or retaining a piece of cap. Getting Bogo would be great, but I assume the Jets would be looking for a fairly hefty return, there would have to be something big added to Franson, would be a real tough deal for the Leafs to make.

You are correct I was just getting carried away with regards to Bogo, it would require Kadri or Rielly as the centerpiece, I'll pass.

 

[Rielly4]

Question for your guys...

I am a fan of this trade as i think Polak is a great shutdown d man... But i dont think hes top pair material like Gunner.

But now who plays against top pairs?? If Gardiner or Rielly gets paired with Dion does that pair still go up against the top lines in the east?

I would think that we are not done making moves to the blue line as i cant imagine Dion being excused of the shutdown role. Unless they think that Gleason-Polak can play against top lines.

 

[Holymakinaw]

But i dont think hes top pair material like Gunner.

On what planet........other than "Leaf-a-tron-2000" is Carl Gunnarsson a top pairing D-Man??

Seriously?

 

[Cor]

The same guy who has been playing with a lot of pain the past 3 years....

Listening to some on here it's a wonder we were able to get rid of Gunnar at all....

He is still gonna be in pain. It's a chronic issue, it will never go away. They can keep doing surgery to relieve some of the pain, but it will always be there

 

[ULF_55]

Question for your guys...

I am a fan of this trade as i think Polak is a great shutdown d man... But i dont think hes top pair material like Gunner.

But now who plays against top pairs?? If Gardiner or Rielly gets paired with Dion does that pair still go up against the top lines in the east?

I would think that we are not done making moves to the blue line as i cant imagine Dion being excused of the shutdown role. Unless they think that Gleason-Polak can play against top lines.

Kostka is UFA, he proved anyone can play with Phaneuf.

I think there are several UFA defenders out there as good as anything the Leafs currently have.

It's all about the Cap.

 

[diceman934]

He is still gonna be in pain. It's a chronic issue, it will never go away. They can keep doing surgery to relieve some of the pain, but it will always be there

Yes, so in the end we may have actually traded a player before he had no value!

 

[Future]

The same guy who has been playing with a lot of pain the past 3 years....

Listening to some on here it's a wonder we were able to get rid of Gunnar at all....

The type of hip issue it is, he will never be 100%. That's who he is now.

Gunnar is a good defenseman. I just don't think this is a bad deal at all and Polak is the better fit for our group.

 

[The_Chosen_One]

People seriously think Gardiner can play anywhere near a first pairing? Jesus Christ this fan base.

He probably won't, but it's an eventual possibility. Likewise, the same can be said about Rielly as well. Phaneuf needs someone who is more of a puck mover while Dion plays a more stay-at-home role. What is interesting to note is that Chicago's top pairing isn't really a puck moving one, but a mobile, skating, one so it's not an unusually foreign concept. Likewise, Josi plays a similar puck stabilising role for Weber and, honestly, Phaneuf needs someone like that as well.

Phaneuf is not playing on our 2nd pairing.
Phaneuf is not going to be playing on the left side, he's a LHD that plays on the right side.
Rielly - Gardiner are two of my favourite dmen... If they are our first pairing for 5v5, we're trying to get McDavid.


Gardiner - Phaneuf
Rielly - Polak
Gleason - Granberg

^ Much more likely if no trade is made to add a Dmen or FA signed. Why wouldn't we play a PMD/OFD with a good defensive partner?

That would be ideal if Gardiner can play that high endurance, Brian Campbell-like role. Now we're going to need to totally rectify the mess up front.

Sign Stastny ( or trade for J. Staal) and create a top line that can drive possession under the heaviest minutes. From there our second line will play a secondary, but important scoring role. We'll have to considering moving out Lupul and acquiring a two-way forward for Kadri. I'd also like to see Holland experimented with Clarkson, but whatever we do, our bottom six needs to be youth-based.


JVR - Stastny - Kessel

X - Kadri - X

X - Holland - Clarkson

X - Carrick - X


X - Phaneuf
X - Polak
X- Granberg

Note, I am not for trading either Gardiner or Rielly ( he's untouchable IMO), I am just not sure where either fit. We're going to need to use Franson, Lupul, and possibly even Gardiner ( if required) to get that two-way top six forward on the wing of Kadri and/or a solid, all-round, PMD like Brandon Gormley.

diceman934: I suppose I assumed wrong. If he is opposed to the trade, he's probably never seen St Louis play. If anything Shattenkirk were their missing link in the playoffs, not Polak.

 

[Cor]

Yes, so in the end we may have actually traded a player before he had no value!

I mean, it's possible. Hip get worse and his play worsens because of it.

 

[diceman934]

Kostka is UFA, he proved anyone can play with Phaneuf.

I think there are several UFA defenders out there as good as anything the Leafs currently have.

It's all about the Cap.

Lets be honest here.....we need one hell of a D man to play with Dion if he is going to continue playing the same type of minutes....He can not play against the other teams top lines consistently without us giving up a ton of shots. We need a very good D man to play with him. Gardiner will help somewhat as he will help relieve pressure with his ability to carry the puck out.

 

[thewave]

Bad deal

 

[diceman934]

He probably won't, but it's an eventual possibility. Likewise, the same can be said about Rielly as well. Phaneuf needs someone who is more of a puck mover while Dion plays a more stay-at-home role. What is interesting to note is that Chicago's top pairing isn't really a puck moving one, but a mobile, skating, one so it's not an unusually foreign concept. Likewise, Josi plays a similar puck stabilising role for Weber and, honestly, Phaneuf needs someone like that as well.


That would be ideal if Gardiner can play that high endurance, Brian Campbell-like role. Now we're going to need to totally rectify the mess up front.

Sign Stastny ( or trade for J. Staal) and create a top line that can drive possession under the heaviest minutes. From there our second line will play a secondary, but important scoring role. We'll have to considering moving out Lupul and acquiring a two-way forward for Kadri. I'd also like to see Holland experimented with Clarkson, but whatever we do, our bottom six needs to be youth-based.


JVR - Stastny - Kessel

X - Kadri - X

X - Holland - Clarkson

X - Carrick - X


X - Phaneuf
X - Polak
X- Granberg

Note, I am not for trading either Gardiner or Rielly ( he's untouchable IMO), I am just not sure where either fit. We're going to need to use Franson, Lupul, and possibly even Gardiner ( if required) to get that two-way top six forward on the wing of Kadri and/or a solid, all-round, PMD like Brandon Gormley.

diceman934: I suppose I assumed wrong. If he is opposed to the trade, he's probably never seen St Louis play. If anything Shattenkirk were their missing link in the playoffs, not Polak.

My bad got two posters with similar handles mixed up....Gormley has been told that he will be playing top 4 minutes for the Yotes....wish he was available.

 

[diceman934]

I mean, it's possible. Hip get worse and his play worsens because of it.

Well it could very likely...liked him a lot, but love the Leafs, so onward and upward!

 

[rrc1967]

Well I like the idea of us getting tougher on D - however I figured this was something that Marlie would handle better for us versus a trade., bringing up a Marlie to suit up for a 5-7 position is pretty much perfect way to give them sheltered minutes; versus having someone tie up a slot down there. Hard to say this is going to make us much better, because I'm not sure that spot was better served with a Marlie.

Not opposed to this trade, but really no one strikes me as capable right now of playing the minutes with Phaneuf .. so things I'm sure will get interesting.

 

[Kbs]

Well I like the idea of us getting tougher on D - however I figured this was something that Marlie would handle better for us versus a trade.

Not opposed to this trade, but really no one strikes me as capable right now of playing the minutes with Phaneuf .. so things I'm sure will get interesting.

Nonis actually mentioned post-trade that Polak would be able to make our defense tougher without relying on a young player like Granberg to fill that role as a rookie.

 

[Lucafen4]

just because Gunnar plays #2 for us, doesn't mean he's a #2. Put him on LA, CHI, ANH, SJ, heh.. STL - he gets played where he should be #4...

This doesn't inherently improve our Defence, but it changes its make up - that was the goal of THIS trade.

Unfortunately, now we need to find a serviceable partner for Phaneuf who can log minutes - going to be difficult/impossible to do internally.

I'd say I'm going to miss Gunnar, but you never noticed him, so I can't. We'll notice Polak, hopefully for the right reasons.

Gunnar was the only D I don't remember having blue line turnovers on blocked shots leading to break aways/odd man rushes every game. Probably my fondest memory of him.

 

[rrc1967]

I mean, it's possible. Hip get worse and his play worsens because of it.

so do groins - do you trade bernier too?

 

[Lucafen4]

Nonis actually mentioned post-trade that Polak would be able to make our defense tougher without relying on a young player like Granberg to fill that role as a rookie.

hopefully it means he can still earn a spot. And what Nonis meant by that comment is to take the pressure off Granberg from feeling like he has to do too much every shift and be all the toughness on the backend. Just play his game.

 

[ToneBone03]

Let's not act like Gunnarsson is a bum, guys. C'mon .. really. He's a solid 2nd pairing guy that was miscast on the top pairing with Phaneuf. We lost a good defenseman today but we also got a real good one back - one that fits a role that we've been sorely lacking. You have to give up quality to get quality and that's exactly what we did today. Good luck to Gunnar - he's gonna be a stud for the Blues playing in a role for which he's actually suitable. I'm glad to get Polak back .. mash 'em up, Roman! We need you to be a beast down low!!

 

[Muston Atthews]

Nonis actually mentioned post-trade that Polak would be able to make our defense tougher without relying on a young player like Granberg to fill that role as a rookie.

...Or holzer

 

[Cor]

so do groins - do you trade bernier too?

not even close to the same thing

Gunnar has a chronic injury, meaning it will never be 100% and will continue to get worse.

Bernier is already 100%

 

[JackJ]

Question for your guys...

I am a fan of this trade as i think Polak is a great shutdown d man... But i dont think hes top pair material like Gunner.

But now who plays against top pairs?? If Gardiner or Rielly gets paired with Dion does that pair still go up against the top lines in the east?

I would think that we are not done making moves to the blue line as i cant imagine Dion being excused of the shutdown role. Unless they think that Gleason-Polak can play against top lines.

Someone else needs to be brought in. Probably Boyle.

Phaneuf
Polak
Rielly
Boyle
Gardiner
Gleason
Granberg

 

[Lucafen4]

Just to add, it was hernia surgery he had, not specifically a groin pull/tear.