The Toronto Maple Leafs Have Re-Signed Forward Max Domi
12 hours before unrestricted free agency hits, Max Domi re-signed with the Maple Leafs.
When it looked as though Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi was headed to free agency, news came out Sunday morning from Elliott Friedman that talks with the team had "intensified" in the last day and a deal was imminent.
Chris Johnston then reported shortly after that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Domi camp had worked out an extension for the second generation player at a $3.75 Million cap hit for four years.
The deal comes one year after Domi joined the franchise for the 2023-24 season when he signed a one-year contract worth $3 Million.
He had his ups and downs through out the year but appeared to create a lot of chemistry with Auston Matthews over the second half of the season when the two got put together after a Mitch Marner injury.
Max Domi Finished Strong and Can Be a Difference Maker Going Forward
His struggles first started to open the season when he didn't score until his 22nd game of the year, however over the final quarter he finished with 16 points in his final 19 games of the season then added four more in the seven game series with the Boston Bruins (ref: hockey-reference.com).
The former first round pick had bounced around the league playing for seven different franchises over the last seven seasons, but has now finally found a home and in the place he wanted to be. The Winnipeg born player finished the 2023-24 season playing in all 80 games collecting nine goals and 47-points while averaging just over a minute of powerplay time a game and finished tied for fourth place in assists on the team behind Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly.
The percentage of the contract comes in at 4.26% of the salary cap which is more than acceptable for a player that can likely play the wing with the leagues most elite level scorer.
Domi was selected 12th overall in the 2013 draft by the Phoenix Coyotes, nine spots ahead of the Maple Leafs selecting Frederik Gauthier who is currently playing in Switzerland. After three years with the Coyotes he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Alex Galchenyuk and broke out with a 28-goals, 72-point season in 2018-19. Unfortunately, he has been unable to regain that type of offence and has bounced around to Columbus, Carolina, Chicago and Dallas before joining Toronto.
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While you don't want to get too excited about a finish to the season, I think that Domi can consistently finish between 50 and 60 points over the next couple of years.