Which line should Patrick Marleau play on with the Toronto Maple Leafs?
That’s been an interesting topic of conversation for Toronto Maple Leafs fans and media since his acquisition.
A lot of us, myself included, first imagined him playing alongside Auston Matthews and William Nylander and for good reasons too.
He can skate with those two kids – his speed is elusive – and help develop their two-way game, specifically playing a role in helping Nylander to become even more defensively responsible for when he transitions to a center ice role.
That hypothetical line would be out there to score goals, sustain offensive zone pressure and excel in a 200-foot game, all good things.
However, Marleau is a Swiss Army type of player that can play any role on any line with almost any player.
Mike Babcock has the unique opportunity to utilize him on the power play, penalty kill, left side or center, offensively focused while defensively aware or vice versa.
The possibilities are limitless.
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In training camp, Marleau’s been skating with Nazem Kadri and it appears that might be where we see him at the start of the season come October 4 in Winnipeg.
Still, no official decision has been made yet.
Let’s take another look at some projected lines.
Lines
For the purposes of this example, we’re going to keep Marleau with Kadri and go from there, then we’ll talk about another possibility for him that hasn’t been discussed yet in this article.
Zach Hyman – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Mitchell Marner
Patrick Marleau – Nazem Kadri – Leo Komarov
Matt Martin – Dominic Moore – Connor Brown
The first thing that stands out is seeing Komarov on Kadri’s right side and Brown sliding down to the fourth line.
A little odd, but that’s how things have been going lately and Komarov’s played the right side before, so transitioning back over shouldn’t be of major concern.
The really odd thing is seeing Brown on the fourth line, but I’m pretty sure even Willie saw some time down there last season, so not to worry.
Everything’s done for a reason.
Matthews line is out there to score and be defensively sound, while it appears Bozak’s line is just out there to score.
I’m hoping that Babcock puts more of an emphasis on playing a 200-foot game for that line, which is what brings in the other possibility as previously mentioned.
Another Hypothetical
Slot in Patty on Bozak’s line and drop van Riemsdyk down to Kadri’s line.
Just an idea, but the move wouldn’t take away from the scoring (necessarily) on Bozie’s line and it would bolster their defense immensely.
Adding JVR to Kadri’s line would be pretty similar to having Marleau there, but would take away from the shutdown role that line’s been known for.
What a good problem to have, what to do with the tremendous talent that the Leafs are oozing.
Regardless, Kadri’s line would be to shut down the opposition (and still score because they definitely can and have), while the fourth line will be a little bit of a mix with Brown down there.
Any angle you look at it, that’s what rolling four lines of dominance is.