Maple Leafs' Patrick Marleau: Working to click with linemates

Marleau has been skating with Nazem Kadri and Leo Komarov in the preseason, but Leafs coach Mike Babcock is not impressed with the trio, reports the Toronto Sun.

"That line has to be better," said Babs on Thursday. "That group can be way better, way quicker. That group has to find some chemistry and get going." Marleau and Kadri have been working hard to understand how to read each other and it has been a work in progress. Marleau likes space once he gets the puck in the corners and along the wall, so Kadri needs to back off, rather than get close in support. That's a shift away from what would be more standard for centermen. The trio will be kept together to start the season, but there is always a chance we'll see an experiment with Marleau beside Auston Matthews some day early in the season.