Max Domi ranks among the best players in the NHL in a very important underlying stat
As the dust has settled on the first few days of free agency, the Toronto Maple Leafs signing Max Domi was important for a variety of reasons. He brings about grit, toughness, and an overall game that not many on the team incorporate. He should provide fireworks for whichever line he gets placed on but an underlying stat that not many people know about is his A1/60 (primary assists per 60 minutes).
368 forwards have played 3000+ 5-on-5 minutes since Max Domi entered the league in 2015-16. It might surprise you to learn that Domi ranks 18th among them in A1/60 in that stretch and he's trailing some elite superstars in Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Nathan MacKinnon, Steven Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Leon Draisaitl among a few others.
Primary assists get a lot of notoriety in the new NHL, especially since the introduction to analytics. A lot of players tend to stack up secondary assists, which are great, but in the grand scheme of things, primary assists push you into a higher echelon of playmaking.
Domi has shown over his career that he can be a reliable point producer and has shown that time and again even while playing for some bad teams. In Arizona he tallied 99 assists and 135 points in 222 games, in Montreal he registered 71 assists and 116 points in 153 games, in Columbus he tallied 38 assists and 56 points in 107 games, and with the Chicago Blackhawks he registered 31 assists and 49 points in just 60 games before being dealt to Dallas at the trade deadline.
He might not be great defensively, but he can produce for the Leafs offensively and has shown that over his career with lesser teams and teammates. His primary assists and playmaking skills could do wonders for the likes of Auston Matthews or John Tavares - whichever centre he plays with - and will only intensify on the power play when he's surrounded by the likes of Mitch Marner and Morgan Rielly as well.
Pretty good list to be apart of considering he was only signed for 3 million this season. If things play out the way they should, it could be one of the better bargains of free agency in 2023-24.
