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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." Early Wynn Jersey . 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Johnny Callison White Sox Jersey . Forsman closed with a 3-under 69 in windy conditions Sunday for his third Champions Tour title. He beat Jay Don Blake by two shots.Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton were in Brooklyn to take in their first NBA game, and Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson and Clevelands supporting cast stole the show at Barclays Center. Waiters and Thompson combined for 40 points and sparked a critical run late in the third quarter that fueled the Cavaliers 110-88 victory over the Nets on Monday. LeBron James was his usual productive self, totaling 18 points, seven assists and three steals, and made headlines during warmups by wearing a black I Cant Breathe T-shirt in reference to Eric Garner, the New York man who died earlier this year while being placed in a chokehold as he was being arrested. James teammate, Kyrie Irving, along with Brooklyns Kevin Garnett and Deron Williams wore the same shirt, but when the ball was tipped, it was business as usual for the Cavs, who rolled to their seventh straight win behind its bench. Waiters scored 26 points, Thompson finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds and fellow reserve James Jones chipped in 12 points. Kevin Love posted a quiet double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds for the victors. Garnett netted a team-high 14 points, while Williams checked in with 13 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, which suffered its second straight lopsided loss. The Nets announced before the game they will be without center Brook Lopez for at least one week because of a back injury. Cleveland took aadvantage of the 7- footers absence with a 55-33 rebounding advantage, with 20 of their boards coming on the offensive glass.dddddddddddd Brooklyn surprisingly controlled the paint early on, scoring 16 points inside en route to a 25-22 lead heading into the second quarter. James and Love combined for all of Clevelands points in the opening frame, and the Cavs bench got in on the act in the second. Waiters scored 13 points, Jones added nine on three 3-pointers and the visitors went into the break holding a slim 50-49 edge. It was a 61-61 game before Cleveland made it a blowout using a 24-6 run over the final 6 1/2 minutes of the third. Five of James assists came during the flurry, which featured eight points from Thompson and six from Waiters. A Thompson bucket, fittingly off an offensive rebound, gave the Cavs a healthy 85-67 cushion after three, and the difference grew to 26 points at one point in the fourth. Game Notes Former NBA All-Star Dikembe Mutombo sat next to the British royals throughout the game ... This was Clevelands first win in five trips to Barclays Center .... The Nets were also without star guard Joe Johnson because of the flu ... Brooklyn lost to the Hawks by 23 points last Friday ... The Nets had won five straight meetings ... Nets forward Mirza Teletovic needed five stitches for a facial laceration he suffered in the third quarter. ' ' '