The unfortunate injury update on Max Domi is not the sort of thing we want to hear about any player. Going through surgery is always a risky situation. Even if it’s a routine procedure, there’s always something that can go wrong.
I’m sure you may have heard of someone dealing with post-surgical complications. And they’re not always easy to overcome.
That’s the ordeal that has befallen Max Domi. The 31-year-old will be out indefinitely, while the Maple Leafs’ medical team evaluates his condition heading into training camp. That situation sounds a lot like Domi has packed his bags and is ready to head to Robidas Island.
Robidas Island became the go-to destination during the Lou Lamoriello administration for players not wanted anymore by the Maple Leafs. These were players with untradeable contracts and with some term left on them.
The best example of that situation is former winger Joffrey Lupul. Lupul arrived with Jake Gardiner (sigh) in a trade that sent one of the Leafs’ most notorious free-agent busts, Francois Beauchemin, in 2011.
Lupul had six decent seasons during the Maple Leafs dark ages between 2011 and 2016. Lupul was one of the players the organization sent to Robidas Island during the Great Tank 1.0 in 2016.
However, rumors emerged that Lupul wasn’t really injured. The Leafs just wanted to get rid of him. This piece by James Mirtle eloquently summed up the situation back in 2017.
The Maple Leafs’ liberal placement of players on LTIR prompted the NHL to investigate such practices. In the end, the rules regarding LTIR became much stricter, not necessarily because of Lupul and the Leafs, but because the league wanted to avoid salary cap finagling.
Now, this comment isn’t to say that Domi’s injury is bogus. The NHL has really cracked down on these sorts of things over the last decade or so. But Domi’s surgical complications have made it so much easier for the Leafs to send him to Robidas Island.
Before, the organization had to trade him. If they couldn’t trade him, they would have to waive him. Waiving Domi would have only represented a slight cap relief. But by placing him on LTIR when the season begins, the Maple Leafs can save his full $3.75 million cap hit.
As you can imagine, the team won’t rush Domi back to the lineup. If he wants to take the entire season to recover, so be it.
The only catch is that the Leafs can’t move Domi to LTIR during the offseason. They’ll have to wait until the season begins to do it. But you have to imagine that Domi will start the season on LTIR. The team can take it from there and figure out the rest.
The only thing that remains up in the air is what the Maple Leafs will do with the cap space. With about $25 million in space, including Domi’s cap hit on LTIR, and with plenty of needs across the board, John Chayka will have a busy summer ahead of him.
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