At 6-foot-2, Polak is built like a middle linebacker on skates, and a good one at that.

Certainly the native of Ostrava, Czech Republic, plays with physicality. Despite his size and penchant for contact, Polak seemingly fell through a few cracks in NHL scouting circles; he lasted until the St. Louis Blues selected him in the sixth round (No. 180) of the 2004 NHL Draft.

It would take a bit longer for Polak to become NHL-ready. He spent the 2004-05 season with Kootenay in the Western Hockey League and helped the Czech Republic finish third at the 2005 IIHF World Junior Championship. He then moved to Vitkovice in the Czech Extraliga and Peoria of the American Hockey League before making his NHL debut with St. Louis on March 11, 2008, against the Edmonton Oilers.

Polak played six games with the Blues in 2007-08 but became a regular the next season, when he had 15 points and 45 penalty minutes in 69 games. He scored his first NHL goal Dec. 20, 2008, against the Minnesota Wild and made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut April 15, 2009, against the Vancouver Canucks.

Polak led Blues defensemen in hits each of his last five seasons with St. Louis before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on June 28, 2014. He quickly paid dividends for Toronto in 2014-15 by scoring scored five goals -- as many as he'd had the previous three seasons combined -- and finished fourth among NHL defensemen with 225 hits.

After being traded to the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 22, 2016, Polak returned to the Maple Leafs, signing with them as a free agent July 2, 2016. He again made his presence felt with Toronto in 2016-17; among Maple Leafs defensemen, he was first in penalty minutes (65) and second in rating (plus-10).

Polak signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent July 1, 2018.