Max Domi has an underrated element to his game that may really help him to succeed in a niche role in Toronto
On July 2nd, Brad Treliving signed Max Domi to a 1-year, $3M deal for the upcoming season. At the time, many fans were excited to see the son of fan favourite and Leafs legend, Tie Domi, come home and believed his personality and style of play was something the Leafs needed.
Domi wasn't brought in to put up 40 goals or 80 points, but rather for the "snot" value, as GM Brad Treliving put it. While Domi is tenacious on the puck, has the grit and sandpaper the Leafs' forward group has needed and can be a secondary scorer on a top-heavy forward group, there is one part of his game that is underrated.
Domi scored 20 goals last season for the first time since the 2018-19 season when he was with the Habs. Of those 20 goals, 8 of them were scored from between the hashmarks and crease. Domi was ranked 91st in the league last season in high danger expected goals at 9.3, which would have placed him 5th on the Leafs behind William Nylander (surprise), Auston Matthews, John Tavares and Michael Bunting.
When you take away his empty net goals from last season, half of his goals were scored from the "dirty areas" which is something the Leafs needed more of in the playoffs. For someone that is only 5'10 and 194 pounds, Domi, like his dad, isn't afraid to get into the trenches and battle for space and bang in loose pucks. He could become a surprisingly useful piece if he crashes the net for the Leafs, depending how Sheldon Keefe chooses to align the powerplay units and where Domi slots in among the forward group.
Between Domi and Tyler Bertuzzi, the Leafs have added a pair of players that are willing to get into the contested spaces and hunt loose pucks while taking some punishment. Hopefully that attitude rubs off on players like Mitch Marner and William Nylander, who, at times, hesitate to go into corners or to the front of the net to score those "garbage goals" and let the opponent get there first to avoid taking contact.
