The acquisition of Max Domi was an expected but still smart move by Brad Treliving this season. On the one hand, bringing in Domi at some point in his career seemed inevitable to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but signing Domi on the bargain side of the deal’s reasonable range while addressing the need for offensive depth is what makes the move an understandable risk.
Even at a price of $3 million and only a one-year commitment, Domi wasn’t an entirely risk-free signing. Going from someone like Alex Kerfoot to Max Dumy means giving up a skill set that worked in two-thirds of the rink in favor of a skill set that is prevalent in the offensive zone. While last season seemed to be what got Max back on the right track even in the presence of an offensive production, there’s some buyer’s caution in that regard as well. The three seasons leading up to last year saw Domi place under 50 points in each of those seasons. He only has one more season with 20 goals, and while a 72-point season at 23 sounds really impressive, he has yet to repeat it. After his trade from the Blackhawks last season where Domi had 49 points in 60 games (certainly on track for a nearly 72-point season) he dropped to just 7 points in 20 games for the Stars. With Domi it seems to be a matter of finding what works for him.
When locating a suitable Domi, the first thing to consider is that when he’s productive offensively, he’s used in the center. With the exception of his rookie year, Domi’s four best campaigns have come in seasons in which he took the most tackles. Not that he was the center for those entire seasons, but he did see his fair share of time in the role. Domi also seems to rely a bit on PDO bending tools, which can be a bit of a problem when you don’t have a minor element in your game to fall back on. However, other than his short stints at Carolina and Dallas, you could make the argument that Dumy never had the quality of teammates that could help prevent those dips and Toronto should not worry so much about Dumy’s offense as it should mitigate the risks. from his defense.
While Domi’s instinctive plan might be to place him in the top six as a playmaker on whatever line Marner doesn’t carry on, there must certainly also be some curiosity as to whether Domi could be a third-line center that creates more depth. . middle of the leaves. Domi is by no means a traditional third-line center, but the Leafs have that in David Kampf and between them Sheldon Keefe has solid playing options to consider if Toronto goes that route.
The player card above perfectly sums up the stakes with Max Domi and with the Leafs being Domi’s seventh professional team, it seems unlikely that Sheldon Keefe will be the coach who finally activates the part of Domi’s mind that helps him make good decisions for himself. end. There are players who get criticized for their defensive play (William Nylander, hi) and then there is Max Domi who is going to need some real help or protection. If there was one team that was able to pull it off with Max Dumy, it’s no surprise that it was his short stop in Carolina. His offense wasn’t great there, but they did come out very positive on goal difference with Max on the ice.
Here’s a breakdown of what worked and what didn’t work for Max as far as his buddies in his career so far.
Last season, when Domi received a bump in his offensive numbers, it came from playing almost exclusively with Patrick Kane and then Andreas Athanasio or Philip Kurachev as another teammate. Whether you’re talking about goals, expected goals, shots, or attempted shots, the opposition ate them alive and that’s not surprising at all when you look at how bad the Blackhawks were last season. This was also the highest scoring streak for the Blackhawks, so understandably, the competition was tougher than this streak should have faced. Adequately sized for being the third line on most teams, I’m sure things wouldn’t have turned out that way, but this set-up still leaves a lot to be desired defensively and once the ball hits the no-man’s-land. d want that set of ice.
Domi’s best hockey in Dallas came in the post-season. The bulk of that time was spent with Mason Marchment as the other winger on the ice with him, then either Tyler Seguin or Ty Dellandrea at center. Dellandrea fared better for Domi, and when Domi and Marchment were on the ice together, they combined 4 goals to 10. Not really something anyone should look forward to emulating. The only forward Domi had a 5-on-5 with a GF% in the postseason was Joe Pavelski. Domi as a playmaker and Pavelski as a low option near the net makes me wonder if there is something to put Domi in with John Tavares, but in that case, you’ll certainly be looking to Calle Jarnkrok and his two bluelines defensively to isolate them.
When it came to keeping Domi out of trouble in the Carolinas, the linear solution seemed to be Vincent Troshek. Trocheck, along with other defensive-minded centers like Kotkaniemi and Lorentz, kept things from going wrong on the Carolina end, but at the same time their playing style was probably too conservative to work with Domi on the offensive end of the ice. If the goal was to keep Max out of trouble at 5v5, job done, but even a recurring offensive talent like Teuvo Teravainen couldn’t get offense out of Domi.
Looking back at Domi’s career year in 2018-19, you probably get the strongest example of what worked for him, some of that should be taken with a grain of salt 103.2 PDO. In 2018-19, Dumy was mostly playing with Andrew Shaw and Jonathan Drouin. Dumy was the center line, as Drouin moved to the left side most of the year and scored 18 goals and 53 points, matching career highs. Andrew Shaw will get the best points of his career this season, too, and help make room for Drouin and Domi. Similar to Pavelski, Shaw (although not so skilled at it) would serve as a solid choice for a net presence for Dumy, and like Dumy, Drouin was there just for offside, nothing like playing in a respectable defensive zone.
Knowing all this, where does that leave Toronto when it comes to using Max Domi properly? Has anyone figured out how to properly utilize him in his time in the NHL yet?
Given the Leafs’ need for someone to take over the third line position role (assuming the Leafs will essentially have an offensive third line, defensive third line with Kampf) I’d be tempted to start a Domi there rather than looking to turn the Tavares line into a free-for-all offense. Although Domi is not a physical presence on the ice, his grit and willingness to cause a spectacle after the whistle could make him a perfect fit for John Tavares, who might be too cool for some.
The idea of Domi and Nylander intrigued me, but it seems a bit far-fetched, as does the idea of trying to have Domi focus on a couple of guys in Nick Robertson and Matthew Kniss to recreate a lot of the elements that I worked with him for the Habs and perhaps the solution that I think we’re seeing the Leafs reach is more From blender variety more than we have become accustomed to in recent years and much more situational uses.
When Toronto drops in on goal, expect to see Max Dumy on the ice a lot more. When the Leafs protect a lead, he could lose bouts to Calle Jarnkrok or David Kampf.
Max Dumy’s interests lie exclusively on the opponent’s end and I think the lesson to be drawn from looking at where he’s been successful in the past, he needs at least one other colleague who thinks that way. Whether it’s Nylander or Robertson, one of those two seems to be the perfect fit for Domi and could complement Max’s playmaking ability.
Having a certain limit in mind for Domi might miss the point of having Max Domi on the Leafs roster. Domi is also very much an acknowledgment that the Leafs are aware of injuries. Knowing there’s a player out there that allows Toronto’s top six to fall back minimally when that happens thanks to depth that can be applied at either center or wing is a huge plus. This might be a legitimate answer to the niche for Domi, but it seems like Domi’s use will be a lot more situational with a variety of teammates than he used to in previous seasons.
data source Hockey evolution And The natural stats trick.