During last year's offseason, the Toronto Maple Leafs faced a big roster turnover among their supporting cast. One of these key new faces was Max Domi, who had lots of upside but still a few question marks surrounding him.
It's safe to say he's earned himself an extension this year with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After taking a couple months to score his first goal with the Leafs, Domi's unique skill set of speed, playmaking, and feistiness to his game made him a fan favorite.
The Leafs have a good number of unrestricted free agents for this year's off-season, but re-signing Domi should be near the top of their to-do list.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Re-Sign Max Domi Immediately
After a somewhat inconsistent regular season, Domi began to find his game in the playoffs, where he played some of his best hockey of the season.
Domi's four points in the playoffs ranked him tied for first among all Leafs players for the scoring lead, and his speed and tenacity made him a threat almost any time he was on the ice.
Domi also did an admirable job taking on the role of first-line center when Auston Matthews was injured for games 5 and 6 of their first round series vs the Boston Bruins.
Is Max Domi the perfect player? No, unfortunately he isn't. But he's a fast, versatile forward who stepped up in the playoffs. Which is exactly what the Leafs need more of.
Oh, and he loves playing in Toronto.
The Leafs have had a revolving door of supporting forwards to the "core-four" over the past 5 years or so. Maybe keeping Domi is a worthy investment?
If they do re-sign Domi, I would offer a maximum of four years with an AAV of $4 million, maybe 4.5.
$4 million for a top-6 player who'll score around 50 points a season and step up in the playoffs? Sign me up.
As much as I love Domi on the Leafs, the last thing GM Brad Treliving should do is offer him a long term contract of 6-8 years. Signing a support player ate age 29 to a long-term deal almost never works out. The good news is Domi seems like the type of player to take a discount to stay playing for the Leafs, so this shouldn't be that big of an issue.
Regardless of what happens, Max Domi has been a pleasure to watch and became beloved by almost the entirety of Leaf nation and has earned himself a spot on the Leafs once again.