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." Adidas Nmd Wholesale China . 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LOUIS -- Arizona shortstop Chris Owings threw wildly to the plate on a bases-loaded grounder in the 12th inning, allowing Matt Holliday to score the winning run in the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night. The Cardinals cut down the go-ahead run at the plate in the 10th on Daniel Descalsos perfect relay throw from down the left field line to nail Ender Inciarte trying to score from first on Paul Goldschmidts two-out double. Holliday walked off Trevor Cahill (1-6) to start the 12th. Matt Adams doubled and Yadier Molina was walked intentionally. Allen Craig hit a grounder and Owings had plenty of time for a force play of the plate but his throw eluded catcher Miguel Montero. Seth Maness (2-2) allowed a hit in the 12th for the Cardinals, who persevered long after Michael Wacha was chased early by a foul ball lined off his pitching elbow while sitting in the dugout. Jason Motte worked 1 2-3 scoreless innings in his first appearance since the 2012 post-season. He got help from Holliday, Descalso and Molina on that nifty relay. The Cardinals left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th against rookie Evan Marshall, but couldnt push across the winning run. Wacha allowed two hits in six scoreless innings and made two outstanding defensive plays before Adams liner forced an early exit after 88 pitches. The team said Wacha, the NLCS MVP last fall, had a bruise and was removed for precautionary reasons. Gerardo Parras two-run homer off Carlos Martinez put the Diamondbacks up 2-1 in the eighth, their first runs in 17 innings in the series after Adam&nbbsp;Wainwrights one-hitter Tuesday.ddddddddddddPinch-hitter Jon Jays sacrifice fly off Brad Ziegler tied it in the bottom half. Wacha snared Martin Prados liner right back at him on instincts, throwing his glove up on the follow-through. He foiled a squeeze attempt by Arizona starter Brandon McCarthy later in the fifth, gloving the bunt in front of the plate and shovelling the ball to Molina at the plate in time to catch Cody Ross. The Diamondbacks unsuccessfully challenged, lobbying for an obstruction call at the plate. Martinez gave up the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in a loss to Atlanta on Sunday and has surrendered seven runs in 7 2-3 innings his last nine outings. Ziegler was scored upon for just the second time in his last 23 appearances. The Cardinals won a challenge and perhaps saved a run in the second when Montero was ruled out attempting to steal with one out. The next batter, Prado, singled. Molina had two hits, giving him 14 the first eight games of a nine-game home stand. NOTES: Rock n roll Hall of Famer Chuck Berry, 87 and a St. Louis resident, threw out the first pitch. ... Lance Lynn (5-2, 3.67) faces Wade Miley (3-4, 4.94) to end a nine-game home stand. Lynn is 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA against Arizona and 20-8 lifetime at home. Miley is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five road starts this year. ... Opponents are 8 for 19 attempting to steal against Molina. ... In Wachas 10 starts, hes allowed two or fewer runs six times. ... Cardinals SS Jhonny Peralta, 1 for 21 against McCarthy, did not start. ... Arizona 2B Aaron Hill returned after missing three games with shoulder soreness and was 0 for 5. ' ' 'blique). ' ' '