The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced that forward Max Domi is out indefinitely due to complications from an undisclosed off-season surgery.
General manager John Chayka said that he has failed his physical and will miss training camp as well as a portion of the season. He went on to say that Domi will address the injury and his situation in the near future. However, for now, the Maple Leafs will be without him and will need to fill the void using some of their new offseason acquisitions.
The Maple Leafs need to replace Domi
It is very unfortunate to hear about Domi; however, when one player goes down with an injury, it creates an opportunity for another player to step in and play in an elevated role. In this case, it would likely be Nick Paul who takes over the third-line center role. Which would make life a lot easier, having a bonafide center as the team's 3C.
The loss of Domi is going to be felt more than just as a third-line center. He brings a lot of passion to the lineup. He is the first player to drop the gloves when the team needs him. He isn't afraid to throw his weight around and get under the opponent's skin. So, without him in the lineup, it'll be felt on any given night. Until, of course, someone else steps up and takes on the role as the protector. The hard part is, it's big shoes to fill, and Domi has done such a great job at it, it'll make it tough to replace.
With all that said, there is one silver lining to it all. Domi's contract will likely start the season on LTIR, meaning the Maple Leafs won't need to worry about clearing someone of significance off the books, at least right now. As it stands, Toronto is over the cap by $2.8 million; Domi's cap hit is $3.7 million. That put them under the cap by $900K and would likely give them enough room to sign Nick Blankenburg to a one-year league minimum contract, who was invited to camp on a PTO. The only cap gymnastics that they would need to do is send down one of their defencemen like Emil Andrae, or depth forward Zach MacEwen, who was probably going to start the year in the AHL, anyways.
Aside from their salary cap situation that is made easier with Domi's contract landing on LTIR. The loss of Domi is huge and will be felt throughout the lineup as well as in the locker room. It'll be hard to replace; it's doable, but it's going to be a challenge. Now, the only hope is that Domi is able to make a full recovery and join the organization as soon as he can.
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