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Trade: Leafs acquire Torres, draft picks from Sharks for Polak, Spaling

Roman Polak

Toronto Maple Leafs’ Roman Polak, of the Czech Republic, as seen making his return appearance to St. Louis during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015, in St. Louis. Polak did not return to St. Louis after the off-season. (AP Photo/Billy Hurst)

AP

The Toronto Maple Leafs have completed their second trade in less than 24 hours.

They’ve acquired forward Raffi Torres and a pair of second round picks (2017, 2018) from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Roman Polak and forward Nick Spaling.

Polak is in the final year of his contract. He’s eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. The 29-year-old has a goal, 13 points and a plus-8 rating in 55 games with the Leafs this season. He was previously acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the summer of 2014.

Spaling was in his first year with the Leafs. The 27-year-old was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins as part of the Phil Kessel trade that went down over the off-season. Like Polak, he’ll be a UFA at the end of the 2015-16 season.

“Roman and Nick are both quality, character players that will complement and enhance our current roster,” general manager Doug Wilson said, per CSN Bay Area. “Our existing group of players has battled hard and they have earned the right to have every chance to succeed this season.”

The Leafs get a nice return with two second-round draft picks coming their way, but the picks are two and three drafts away.

As part of the swap, Toronto also gets Raffi Torres (don’t expect him to join the Leafs). The Maple Leafs will absorb his cap hit, but he’ll stay with San Jose’s AHL affiliate on loan, per General Fanager.

The Leafs shipped Shawn Matthias to Colorado for a draft pick and a prospect yesterday.