[Trade] Polak to Leafs

[Mike Vanderhoek]

It sounded lke Toronto needed better defensive defensemen last season and someone solid with experience. Polak should fit that bill, not a sexy name but should provide stability on the blueline.

[oldnews]

St Louis just got better. The Leafs, once again, show how utterly dopey they are.

Ironically this is sold as the Leafs getting more "physical", but Gunnarsson threw 166 hits and blocked 176 shots for the Leafs last year. Polak didn't match either. Gunnarsson was also paired with Captain vacancy and makes Phaneuf look a lot better than he actually is. A Phaneuf Polak pairing....imo is a bad idea. Wonder who the Leafs are going to prop Phaneuf up with now.

Polak - had some of, if not the worst underlying numbers on St Louis. Weak quality of competition and quite bad relative corsi. He might fit in really well with one of the worst puck possession teams in the NHL.

Gunnarsson's corsi is quite misleading - he faces the strongest quality of competition on the Laffs, and he handles 38.5% offensive zone starts. What that spells is your best shutdown defenseman. What they just got in return from St Louis was an expendable depth blueliner who was overpaid for his 'physicality'.

I think this one will pan out to show just how dense the Leafs continue to be. They continually move their more solid possession players. Just plain derp. Had a horribly stupid summer two years in a row and look poised to follow that up again this summer.

What a gift to Gunnarrson though. And St Louis. Remember how bad Bouwmeester looked in Calgary, handling all their hard minutes and then moving to a deep, possession team like St Louis? Be prepared to see how good Gunnarsson is going to look in 6 months Toronto. You fracked up again.

And to top it off, you threw in a third round pick? And retained salary? What a joke. Would be torture to be a Leafs fan.

[TOMapleLaughs]

The trade made no sense for both teams. Polak's a physical beast and is better suited for the west. And TO really needed to just add Polak, not ship out Gunnar at the same time.

Whatever.

Oh yeah. Retained salary again. I swear they do that just for laughs.

And a 3rd rounder? Good God.

One thing is that Gunnar... Isn't he Dion's regular partner? So are they forcing Dion to the left side?

[oldnews]

Statistics and advanced stats certainly aren't the be all and end all of matters - a really good eye for the game is a good substitute.

But if you don't have a really good eye for the game, you should probably use them.

And the Leafs quite simply and apparently don't have either going for them.

"Truculence" is one way is just overcompensation, and in another, isn't really much compensation in the end for having a team full of holes.

They made easily the stupidest move of the summer last year.

And they just put themselves plainly in the lead once again.

I feel bad for their fans, but with all the trolling that the likes of Dreger and Cox attempt to direct this way, it's truly remarkable how much satisfaction Toronto serves those of us who love to return the trash talk.

Wow. Another epic gift. I'd be laughing out loud if I didn't feel so bad for Caboose.