After looking lost for the first three months of the season, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi has been exceptional lately.
One of the big reasons why Max has been so great, is because he's looking a lot like Tie. For those Leafs fans over 30-years-old, you have found memories of Max's dad fighting everyone and anyone in the NHL. Regardless of their height or weight, Tie would drop the gloves with anyone who taunted him, or just looked at him funny.
At 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, Max has a very similar build to his dad, Tie. He doesn't look like a heavyweight, but he has that bulldog mentality that he isn't afraid of anyone. We didn't see a ton of fight in Max over the first half of the season, but he's shown way more now that he's been elevated to the top line.
During the Leafs 4-1 win against the Florida Panthers last week, Max fought Aaron Ekblad who is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. He followed that tilt up with another battle against someone much bigger than him, going toe-to-toe versus Marcus Pettersson, who's 6-foot-5.
The Leafs don't have a ton of toughness on their team so it's nice that Domi has stepped up, living up to his last name, over the past few games and isn't afraid to fight. You obviously don't want him to do this every game during the regular season but his ability to drop the gloves has given this team a new identity, as they shouldn't be messed with.
Max Domi looks confident on the Leafs first line
The fighting has been awesome, but more importantly, Domi's offense has flourished playing alongside Auston Matthews. When Mitch Marner left the team, Matthews lost a playmaker, but fortunately that's the best part of Domi's game. In his last nine games, the 30-year-old has six assists and two goals, making it impossible for head coach Craig Berube to shuffle him off the first line.
Who know if it's sustainable but Matthews clearly needed an assist-man on his wing, as Domi's arrival has also sparked his goal-scoring. In that same timeline, the captain has seven goals in his last nine games, with Domi assisting on three of those goals.
The former first-round pick has a ton of skill, but he's felt like a wasted talent having only scored 20 or more goals in his 11-year career. He has a fantastic shot as highlighted by his goal against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, but his playmaking is best attribute.
As a result, Domi is someone who can excel with high IQ players alongside him, so the first line of Matthews Knies, Auston Matthews and himself could be a staple for the remainder of the year. Hopefully Domi's confidence continues to grow as he's been a pleasant surprise lately.