Carl Gunnarsson

Carl Gunnarsson (born 9 November 1986) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey defenceman.

He played for Linköpings HC of the Elitserien (SEL) and the Toronto Maple Leafs and St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Gunnarsson was born on 9 November 1986, in Örebro, Sweden, to father Björn Gunnarsson.

Growing up in Sweden, Gunnarsson began his minor ice hockey career with the Örebro HK and Linköpings HC junior teams.

In 2003, he was named the years best talent by Klubb i Örebro län, a sports journalism newspaper.

Gunnarsson made his HockeyAllsvenskan debut during the 2003–04 season before eventually playing in the Swedish Elite League for Linköpings HC.

In his first season with the Senior hockey club, Gunnarsson was loaned to the IFK Arboga where he scored his first goal on 2 November 2005.

During his tenure with Linköpings HC, Gunnarsson helped the team earn back-to-back SHL SM-silver Medal.

A native of Sweden, Gunnarsson began his minor ice hockey career with the Örebro HK and Linköpings HC junior teams before being selected in the seventh round, 194th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Prior to playing in North America, Gunnarsson returned to Sweden and played for Linköpings HC of the Swedish Elite League.

Gunnarsson was selected in the seventh round, 194th overall, of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs but chose to continue playing in the Swedish Elite League for Linköpings HC.

He returned to Canada for the 2009–10 season and made his NHL debut 14 November.

He ended the season with 16 points in 53 games and on 2 June 2009, began his North American professional career by signing an entry level contract with the Maple Leafs.

He attended the Maple Leafs Rookie Camp in September and was assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, to begin the 2009–10 season.

His stint in the AHL was shortlived as he was called up to the Maple Leafs as a replacement for Mike Komisarek on 12 November.

He made his NHL debut on 14 November in a loss to the Calgary Flames, during which he played more than 21 minutes of ice time and was praised by coach Ron Wilson as looking like the Leafs' best defenceman.

Gunnarsson stayed with the Leafs for the remainder of the season and scored his first NHL goal on 29 January 2010 against Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils.

Following a successful rookie season, Gunnarsson made the Leafs opening lineup prior to the 2010–11 season.

Gunnarsson was rewarded for his success with a two year contract extension on 14 June 2011.

Entering the first year of his new contract, Gunnarsson competed for a spot on the Maple Leafs roster against nine other defenceman.

The Leafs leaned heavily on Gunnarsson during the 2011–12 season, with only captain Dion Phaneuf logging more time on ice.

During practice on 12 February 2012, Gunnarsson collided with teammate Jay Rosehill and he missed three games to recover from the subsequent ankle injury.

He returned to the Leafs lineup only to suffer a season-ending separated shoulder injury during the teams' final home game against the Buffalo Sabres on 4 April.

Due to the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Gunnarsson was released by the Leafs in order to playout the season with his hometown team Örebro HK.

After the lockout ended, Gunnarsson returned to North America and continued the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

However, his time in the lineup was shortlived as he underwent treatment to rehabilitate a hip injury after playing in seven games.

However, Gunnarsson's second season in the NHL did not begin as smoothly as his first; he was a healthy scratch 13 times throughout the season and did not play more than 20-minutes of ice time until his 17th game of the season.

His play began to pick up through the final 24 games of the season and he ended the year with four goals and 20 points in 68 games.

Gunnarsson was cleared to play for the Leafs prior to the 2013–14 season and made their opening lineup.

Gunnarsson played five seasons with the Leafs before being traded to the St. Louis Blues on 28 June 2014.

That season would prove to be his last with the Maple Leafs, as on 28 June 2014, Gunnarsson and fourth-round draft pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft were traded to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenceman Roman Polák.

He underwent hip surgery during the offseason and was medically cleared to play on 14 October 2014.

Gunnarsson joined the Blues for their 2014–15 season and made their opening night lineup.

He played in 20 games for the Blues before being placed on their injured reserve and missing 10 games due to an upper-body injury.

He was re-injured during a game against the Minnesota Wild on 21 March 2015 and returned to the lineup on 25 March.

At the time of his injury, Gunnarsson accumulated two goals and 10 assists in 54 games.

By the time he met the Leafs for the first time of the season, he was playing on a defensive pairing with Kevin Shattenkirk and helped the Blues maintain a 16-4-2 home record.

Gunnarsson won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Blues in 2019.

Internationally, Gunnarsson has played for Team Sweden at both the junior and senior levels.

He has participated in three IIHF World Championships, capturing one silver and two bronze medals.