I AM LEAVING: NHL forward Max Domi part ways with Toronto Maple leafs today…
While everybody is talking and thinking about the draft, other urgent matters remain for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Free agency is fast approaching, and unless general manager Brad Treliving manages to pull off a miracle, Max Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi could be on their way out of Toronto. What’s been happening in each case? Read on to find out.
Max Domi Wants to Stay
The homegrown player had a good season in Toronto, which proved to be a determinant factor in the playoffs. Playing with big guns like Auston Matthews for instance, he can keep up with him and efficiently complete him.
He played 80 games in the regular season, and after a slow start, he scored 47 points. He finished the year with a plus-10 rating and 118 penalty minutes. In the playoffs, he played all seven games, gathering four points.
While he only spent an average of 13:47 seconds of ice time in the regular season, his playing time jumped to 16:57 in the playoffs. In the regular season, he had a 50% success rate in the faceoff department while winning 66.7 % of his duels in the postseason.
Unsurprisingly, Domi performs better when he gets more ice time. In his career year with the Montreal Canadiens, he got 72 points, averaging 17:22 of ice time. The center was always clear about loving Toronto and wanting to stay. So, too, was Treliving about liking the player and wanting to keep him.
Those are just words, however, and it’s time for the Maple Leafs to put their money where their mouth is. Domi reportedly wants a contract paying him four million per season for four years, as reported by Elliotte Friedman in the latest “32 Thoughts Podcast”.
Domi is 29 and will be 33 by the time the contract expires. Judging by his previous season, it’s hard to think he could be aching and breaking down by then; he has suffered few injuries. As for the price tag, I can see a lot of teams ready to give him that in free agency. The question is, would he have the same asking price for other teams, or is that a hometown discount?
