Maple Leafs acquire Roman Polak from Blues for Carl Gunnarsson

The Toronto Maple Leafs completed a trade on Day 2 of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, acquiring stay-at-home defenseman Roman Polak in a trade with the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenseman Carl Gunnarsson and the 94th pick at this draft, the league announced.

Polak managed four goals and 13 points in 72 games this past season, while logging third-pairing minutes in St. Louis. Gunnarsson, on the other hand, played second-pair minutes and managed three goals and 17 points. Polak's results were modestly better, but that may have been a function of playing a smaller role on a much better team. 

The two defenders have similar contracts, with both players on deals that have two seasons remaining. Polak has two years left on a contract with an averaged annual salary of $2.75 million, while Gunnarrsson's cap hit is modestly higher ($3.15 million). 

So what's the logic behind the trade? The Globe and Mail's James Mirtle suggests that it may be as simple as handedness. 

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that, in addition to sending the Blues a pick in the deal, the Maple Leafs have agreed to retain just over six percent of Gunnarsson's salary in order to complete the transaction. In total the Leafs will retain $200,000 of Gunnarsson's annual averaged salary and just under $220,000 of Gunnarsson's actual salary.

It's worth noting that, contrary to LeBrun's report, Capgeek.com lists the Maple Leafs as retaining 15 percent of Gunnarsson's salary (or $630,000 against the salary cap).