Marleau already centre of attention for Leafs

Patrick Marleau can already draw a crowd in Toronto.

The Maple Leaf winger’s first day on the ice at the MasterCard Centre coincided with an appearance by the entire Leaf coaching staff and most of management, except for general manager Lou Lamoriello.

While NHL off-season rules do not permit any direct on-ice contact at practice until training camp starts in another week, Mike Babcock might as well have been behind the bench as up in the stands Wednesday morning, with a gamenight intensity stare at Marleau and 20-plus Leafs from under a baseball cap.

He and his staff must have already formulated forward lines, Babcock being famous for doodling them on picnic napkins at his Saskatchewan summer retreat. Marleau, however, claims not to know about the coach’s plans.

“I’m going in blind,” Marleau said. “I know I just have to do my job and whatever happens, happens.”

But if a team shells out for a steady scoring left winger such as Marleau — almost US$19 million US for three years — it would seem pairing him with emerging centre Auston Matthews is the best option to start.

“His skill level,” Marleau agreed in praise of Matthews. “Obviously, Auston can score. When you give him the puck there’s a good chance it will end up in the back of the net. Playing with highly skilled players is fun. If you have the puck, then the majority of time you’re not chasing it.”

The soon to be 38-year-old was lured to Toronto in part because of his success with Babcock at the elite level. It goes back to the mid-1990s-Western Hockey League All-Star Game when Spokane’s Babcock coached Seattle’s Marleau.

HELLO, MY NAME IS …

It’s been a hectic few days for Marleau, getting moved in to his new house in North York and getting his kids settled in school. Wednesday, he could finally get a handle on what his new mates are capable of with a stick and puck.

Just about everyone but Matthews was on the ice, including slick forwards William Nylander and Mitch Marner, most of the regular defence, including newcomer Ron Hainsey, and both goalies, Frederik Andersen and Curtis McElhinney.

“I’m finally putting some names to faces,” Marleau said, “It’s still summer, but they’re going at a pretty good clip.

“I’ve been running around quite a bit. It’s a bit stressful at times, not knowing where everything is (in an unfamiliar city), but that’s something you work through. Today, I got a chance to talk to some guys on the bench. They’re a great bunch.”

RIELLY REVS UP

Defenceman Morgan Rielly also arrived back in the past couple of days, anxious to build off a year in which his limits were tested, certainly against some of the top forwards in the circuit.

He spent the majority of his summer skate time with NHLers in his native British Columbia, such as Brenden Dillon, Ryan NugentHopkins and some members of the Vancouver Canucks.

“My training routine changes every year,” Rielly said. “You have to adapt, do what works for you, figure out what you want to improve on.

“Expectations are always high here and this year, they’re going up.”

CARRICK: ‘DON’T GET COMFY’

Connor Carrick remembered something veteran Matt Hunwick told him last season that has made younger Carrick ready to fight even harder for ice time on defence this year.

“Hunwick had that lack of comfort (his job was safe) and yet he had the ability to play and was one of our assistant captains,” Carrick said. “That says something when he’s feeling ( job pressure).”