Blues swap defensemen with Maple Leafs

The St. Louis Blues trade defenseman Roman Polak to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, and the 94th pick in the 2014 NHL draft (Ville Husso). Husso, turned out to be the pick. He was ranked number one for European goalies. Polak was drafted by the Blues in the 2004 NHL draft in the 6th round, overall he was picked 180th. Since Polak's rookie season in 2006-2007, he's played 424 games, with 13 goals, 66 assists, and 79 points in eight seasons and is a minus 7. He's played in 25 playoff games, only has 2 assists, and is a minus 11 in the playoffs.

As for Gunnarsson what does he bring to the Blues? He can control the puck better than Polak can. Both are pretty much similar types of players, except Gunnarsson fits Ken Hitchcock's system on the Blues. Gunnarsson was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the 2007 NHL draft in the 7th round, overall he was picked 194th. His rookie season came in 2009-2010, that year he played in 43 games and scored 3 goals, with 12 assists for 15 points. He lead the Leafs in the plus/minus department with a plus 8.
He was paired with Dion Phaneuf for the Leafs top paring. He looked good making up for Phanuef's mistakes. Last season on a bad Maple Leafs team he finished as a plus 12.

In his career his played five seasons in the NHL so far and has played 304 games, with 15 goals, 71 assists, and 86 points, and is a plus 14. He's played 7 career playoff games, with 1 assist and is a minus 7. 

People liked Polak a lot, they'll tend to like Gunnarsson if they give him a chance. Polak made hits and got lots of blocked shots, well guess what? Last season lets compare both Polak had 130 blocked shots, and 151 hits. As for Gunnarsson, he had 176 blocked shots and 166 hits. It's a win-win for both teams if you look at it. Gunnarsson fits Hitchcock's style better, and controls the puck better. The Blues improved their game. That's one improvement into making this team better than last years team so far. Will Jordan Leopold be traded? I could see the Blues trading him to clear cap space and find someone who could fill Polak's role with maybe less playing time in free agency. Both Polak and Gunnarsson are about the same age.