Max Domi pulled aside for lengthy chat with Sheldon Keefe at Leafs practice
When Max Domi signed a 1-year, $3M with the Leafs this summer, there was an element of excitement, given the history that exists between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Domi name. Max's father, Tie Domi, spent 12 of his 16 NHL seasons in Toronto, so it was a homecoming of sorts for Max and there was a lot of nostalgia value for him, the fanbase and the organization.
Throughout training camp, Domi was tethered to William Nylander, as the two had developed some pretty solid offensive chemistry early on. However, when the season began for the Leafs on Wednesday, it became clear fairly quickly that for all of their offensive chemistry, they sure weren't playing a whole lot of defense.
After a couple of periods playing together in the 2nd game of the season against Minnesota, with John Tavares as their center, Domi was dropped down to the third line with Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, with the more defensively adept Calle Jarnkrok elevating to the 2nd line to play with Nylander and Tavares. Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe had stated that the move was to give Minten and Knies a better playmaker to play with, but when Domi was spotted having a lengthy discussion with Sheldon Keefe at practice on Sunday, it became apparent that there were additional motives behind Keefe dropping Domi to the third line.
With Domi seemingly coughing up the puck more than expected in the offensive zone, perhaps Keefe addressing this issue with him directly this early on can help the 2nd generation Leaf to settle down and make the smart play, as opposed to making the riskier decision and losing possession.
At the moment, there doesn't appear to be any major problems between Domi and his coach. Domi had expressed during the offseason that he'll play wherever Keefe wants him and do the job to the best of his ability regardless of his assignment. Let's hope that's still the case, as many would hate the idea of seeing him slip even further down the depth chart in Toronto. There's a chance that this can all be chalked up to early-season jitters as well.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 16 | 271 ANSWERS Max Domi pulled aside for lengthy chat with Sheldon Keefe at Leafs practice Are you surprised to see Max Domi relegated to 3rd line duty so fast? | ||
| Yes, I thought he was playing fine on line 2 | 22 | 8.1 % |
| No, he's more of a 3rd liner anyway | 116 | 42.8 % |
| He'll be back up on the 2nd line in no time! | 82 | 30.3 % |
| I'll be surprised if he isn't traded this year | 51 | 18.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
