Lets talk Patrick Marleau

Pi

Registered User
Nov 16, 2010
48,856
13,830
Toronto
Marleau plays a quiet but effective game. It's a good start but I'd be happy if he can put up 25-30 goals and 50 points.

He's been a good addition. Scored a very important goal last night. If we don't score in that second period to make it 3-3, I am sure the Leafs were not going to comeback with the way they played in the third.
 

Buds17

Registered User
Nov 29, 2015
8,221
3,343
Solid and important add for us. Couldn't have been easy for him to leave the only NHL team he's known, and at this point in his career. There was interest from a handful of teams too, so means a lot to have him choose to sign here. He's been good for 82+ for a considerable amount of years and still offers nice production in addition to that.
 

IPS

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
15,461
24,487
We could honestly put Brown back on Kadri's line and I really don't think the line would look/produce any different.

No idea why we brought Marleau in at a massive cost.
 

ToneDog

56 years and counting. #FireTheShanaClan!
Jun 11, 2017
23,338
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Richmond Hill, ON
What goes unnoticed is what he brings off the ice. I am sure he is teaching the kids everything he has learned over the years. I see that paying off in spades big time.
 
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MR4

Registered User
Oct 20, 2014
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We could honestly put Brown back on Kadri's line and I really don't think the line would look/produce any different.

No idea why we brought Marleau in at a massive cost.
Our depth would look way different though.

Considering Leafs tried trading JVR to NYI, it's likely that they signed Marleau to replace JVR on the Marner line, which Marleau would fit better on over the Kadri line
 

jrgtml67

Registered User
Sep 12, 2011
5,457
945
Marleau for me has been almost ghost like. He has moments where you really notice him (goals) but other than that something is missing. My take is; Komarov has not started well. He is losing a lot of 1 on 1 battles. Last night was good example, besides Marleau's goal it was one and done for that line. Also I think Kadri's wrist was bugging him all game (after blocked shot in period 1). With how that line has looked thus far, I think we may need to move up Brown, move Komarov down. Whether it is to send a message, or more permanent. Last night Brown was virtually none existent as well. But the 4th line may have had 1 shift in the offensive zone. For me last night we looked slow (outside matthews). It felt like they didnt care, no heart. With all the HNIC buzz, and playing a rival it was a sad display. Good thing Andersen found his game in the third, or we would be talking about a loss. Andersen was real bad, in the 1st. While one goal was a scree, Galchenyuks goal was pitiful. They even zoomed in on him and Patches afterward, and you could see Galchenyuk say "wow that went in," almost questioning himself "no, no it was a good shot," replied Patches. Andersen for me has not looked good except for game 1, most of the Chicago game, and I cannot fault him for half the goals against NY, as 3x for sure, guys were left all alone in front.

Back to Marleau. Notorious slow starter. So that is one. Two as mentioned Komarov is not playing like he normally does on that line (though his PK ice time he has looked real good). There were 2 games, that the Kadri line for me was the most consistent, even though I believe they had 2 pts. You cannot compare the finish of Matthews to any other line we have so that is why I say most consistent. All in all, I think Marleau will be fine and come around. Same as Marner. They are too good. What I want to see is a fire in their pants. Play with some excitement. Last night was the most boring game, I have seen them play in a long time. Worse in ways than against, NJ (NJ they had 50 shots, last night was 22). What that tells me is they need to play in between some where. Against NJ they were too loose, and only cared about offense. Last night they were almost scared to create, but for the most part a lot better defensively. We saw this last year a bit. When Rielly, and Gardiner were told to find their defensive game first, and after a little over half the season Babcock let them loose. I noticed last night, a lot of times, the defense were exiting the offensive zone way early (and both of them not just one). That is where I think our little offensive zone time came from. The largest problem I think we have, or been having. The first pass out of our zone in the neutral zone has been horrendous. Whether the ice is bad, or the puck is bouncing like a ball, it has been really bad. We are a speed team, and you cannot attack with speed if that pass misses, or is to a guy standing still. This is what NJ did real well against us, and this season. They use there speed, not only on the fore check, but through the neutral zone their passing has been really good. If we can fix that, I think it fixes 2 things. One it helps us with more offensive time, or enables us to attack on the rush using our speed. Secondly if that pass is good in the neutral, and does not get picked off, it will help our defense, as we it will limit odd man rushes.
 

Swedish Gretzky

Registered User
Oct 12, 2017
1,062
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Sweden
Love Marleau and would love to see him score 60+ points while providing veteran leadership.

That said, I don't think he's looked great so far as a Leaf. Hopefully just an adjustment thing but outside the PP he doesn't seem to have the speed to keep up.

Really small sample size though, hopefully he tears it up.

Marleau looks like an elite skater in all his games. are you referring to top end speed or acceleration? looks like he hasn't lost a step. could you show me a clip that demonstrates this?
 

BayStreetBully

Registered User
Oct 25, 2007
8,200
1,960
Toronto
A true professional, on and off the ice. Couldn’t have many better players set an example for our young guys :)

100% agree. I'm not concerned about Marleau's points at all. Just knowing we gave our Big 3 youngsters every chance to succeed with Marleau's presence makes me satisfied with this contract.
 

Suntouchable13

Registered User
Dec 20, 2003
43,022
18,032
Toronto, ON
We could honestly put Brown back on Kadri's line and I really don't think the line would look/produce any different.

No idea why we brought Marleau in at a massive cost.

Still not a fan of Connor Brown playing on the 4th line 5-on-5. People would say "gives us a scoring threat on all 4 lines" but he won't score much playing with 4th liners. Komaraov is a very bad fit with Marleau and Kadri. Who cares about a scoring threat on the 4th line? He has 1 goal. Put Brown with Kadri and Marleau and see what happens. That line is not much of a threat with stone hands Leo on it. And the 4th line won't be much different with Leo on it.
 
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MorrisSmit89

Registered User
Mar 20, 2014
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one person in this thread said Marleau is a notorious fast starter and another said he's a notorious slow starter. i love this board.
 

IPS

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
15,461
24,487
Still not a fan of Connor Brown playing on the 4th line 5-on-5. People would say "gives us a scoring threat on all 4 lines" but he won't score much playing with 4th liners. Komaraov is a very bad fit with Marleau and Kadri. Who cares about a scoring threat on the 4th line? He has 1 goal. Put Brown with Kadri and Marleau and see what happens. That line is not much of a threat with stone hands Leo on it. And the 4th line won't be much different with Leo on it.
Agreed 100%, Komarov fits much better on the 4th line than Brown. The "scoring line threat" on the 4th line is way overstated. We could have a 3rd line with 3 legit 20-30 goal threats on it.
 

authentic

Registered User
Jan 28, 2015
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We could honestly put Brown back on Kadri's line and I really don't think the line would look/produce any different.

No idea why we brought Marleau in at a massive cost.

He adds great depth to our team, and is clearly still a very good player, who cares if we overpaid a bit.
 

Hotlanta

Registered User
Dec 1, 2009
1,784
2
He does everything I was hoping JVR would one day learn but never did. When Marleau quietly stays back and supports his D it's a play JVR would pinch on and try and get an odd man rush. He plays hockey like a veteran pro. Exactly what we were missing and Babcock wants.

I don't think him and Kadri are well suited to play together. Kadri loves to hold on to the puck and take the shot. Marleau is very good at getting open and would do better with either a right handed center like Bozak or one like Matthews who can dish it.

Marleau - Matthews - Nylander
Komarov - Kadri - Brown
JVR - Bozak - Hyman (I think a strong forechecker like Brown last night would really help this line)
Leivo - Moore/Fehr/Aaltonen - Marner (get marner a skilled linemate)
 
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Mattb124

Registered User
Apr 29, 2011
6,513
3,847
one person in this thread said Marleau is a notorious fast starter and another said he's a notorious slow starter. i love this board.

One is right and the other latched onto an erroneous statement by a Leaf's announcer. Marleau usually starts well and then generally becomes streaky with his scoring.
 

AppsSyl

Registered User
May 28, 2015
4,113
2,291
This signing has provided us with three nightmarish lines to have to match up against. It ensures that at least one of our extremely talented offensive lines is up against inferior competition every night. This wears teams down, because they have to substantially increase the load of their shut down players, and allows us to take advantage. Our depth is really going to help us later in the season, because we don't have to rely on any one line for ridiculous minutes.
 
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