emperament and he was fortunate to get just a yellow card after an atrocious challenge on Gareth Barry. Wilshere remains a real talen

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. Cheap Nike Jerseys For NFL . 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." Stitched China NFL Jerseys . Join World Soccer Pickem 2014 for your chance to win $5,500 in cash prizes by picking the winner of each game all the way through to the tournament final. Will you ride a favourite such as Spain or Germany, or cast your lot with an underdog like Ivory Coast or Mexico? Perhaps key victories from Netherlands or the United States will be your key to victory. Sale NFL Jerseys .C. - Alberta prop Andrew Tiedemann will captain Canada against Uruguay on Friday, the opening day of competition at the IRB Americas Rugby Championship. http://www.nfljerseyscheapwholesaleauthentic.com/ . Sundays game against the Colorado Rapids at B.C. Place Stadium has important implications in determining Major League Soccers playoff picture and will also mark the final game in the career of veteran South Korean defender Young-Pyo Lee.Everton and Arsenal played to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday with the Gunners scoring twice in the last six minutes to rescue a point. Here are three key observations Kristian Jack took away from Arsenals performance. 1. Another slow start for Arsenal away from home at a big club Last season Arsenal conceded four at Anfield, four at Stamford Bridge, two at Goodison and two at the Etihad - all in the first half. Each time post-match, Arsene Wenger talked at length about preparation and mental strength improving in these situations, dealing well with adversity and responding well when they concede. In their first significant test of the new season, they failed once again in these areas. The Gunners started the game brightly. Their defensive line wasnt as high as it has been in games like this in the past and they seemed to have a good balance in attack. Then Everton scored from a set play and Arsenal crumbled. They lost all momentum in midfield and couldnt generate any serious threats in attack. Everton are a tough side to break down, particularly at home, and no one was expecting the visitors to dominate the match, but their performance in the last 25 minutes of the first half was not good enough. Another poor start ultimately forced their manager into a change, yet removing Alexis Sanchez seemed strange. Arsenal needed Olivier Giroud as a reference point up top, but they seemed to take off the wrong man. The game opened up more in the second half and Arsenal desperately needed someone with the Chileans creativity to take a hold of it. Thankfully for the Gunners, they had Santi Cazorla on the bench to do exactly that. Had they not started slowly, Arsenal would have won at Goodison. Wenger may feel they still should have won, highlighting the offside goal and Olivier Girouds miss just after half-time, but the French boss must now look at starting his fellow countryman. Many feel he isnt good enough to start for them, but Wenger does not subscribe to this and has always been a fan of his exceptional link-up play. Against Everton, he wanted to start Sanchez to bring a new dimension to their attack and just because it failed, it doesnt mean he shouldnt do it again, but their slow start means Sanchez up top on his own from the start will have to be put on hiatus for now. 2. Arsenal still vulnerable against quick transitions The second goal they conceded was offside and should never have been allowed to stand, yet it still highlights Arsenals major issue in defending against transitions. Chelsea and Liverpool, in particular, tore the Gunners apart in these areas last season and the moment Per Mertesacker pushed up and lost a gamble on winning the ball, Arsenal were stretched and were easily torn apart on the transition. Full-backs Mathieu Debuchy and Nacho Monreal started their first game together and it showed. There was llittle understanding between the two when they made advancing runs. Wholesale Authentic NFL Jerseys. Both were out of position for the goal and, while the Frenchman tracked back, he failed to recognize the run by goalscorer Steven Naismith. Mesut Ozil, once again, had a fine view of the goal as he casually ran back with the ball ahead of him. The German is what he is defensively and shows little appetite for that aspect of his game. He was hardly the main culprit for the second goal, like the first, but Wengers decision to hand him his first start since the World Cup final, out on a flank against Seamus Coleman, looked very naive. 3. Arsenal experience growing pains with their young stars Unlike other title contenders, Arsenal seemed content at allowing young players to develop with them at the highest level. This strategy has many positives, but it does mean consistency will always be a struggle. At 19-years-old, Calum Chambers wasnt even in the discussion for Englands World Cup squad after just 18 senior appearances at right-back for Southampton. A few months later, he is now starting significant league games for a club like Arsenal at centre-back. Chambers will make mistakes as he matures and had a couple of different moments against the pace of Kevin Mirallas, but overall he showed confidence on the ball, was commanding in the air and read the game very well. His ball out to Aaron Ramsey for the second goal was exceptional. Already Chambers, who will benefit immensely from games alongside Per Mertesacker, looks like a future England regular. When he does reach that level, he will likely be alongside teammates Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in that squad. Wilshere played in a three-man midfield against Everton, alongside Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini, but had a poor game. When the game is not going his way, there are strong questions that have to be asked about his temperament and he was fortunate to get just a yellow card after an atrocious challenge on Gareth Barry. Wilshere remains a real talent, a player who can ignite attacks from deep, but as the number seven between the two other players, he still struggles to dictate the tempo of a game the way a club like Arsenal needs. Perhaps, his development would blossom once a real number six is brought in alongside him. Just imagine how different Arsenal would be if, for example, Sami Khedira played where Flamini or Mikel Arteta usually does. Oxlade-Chamberlain was bright and has an exceptional ability to find space when not in possession. He is a great talent to play alongside because he always wants the ball and puts himself in areas that others wont go, often moving centrally to combine with the excellent movement of Ozil and Sanchez. Many players at Arsenal can compete for that starting spot on the right, but the 21-year-old deserves more chances in that position. ' ' '