Even before he entered the NHL, Max Domi was linked to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
His father, Toronto fan favourite Tie Domi, played 12 seasons and 777 of his 1,020 career games with the Leafs.
And after eight years, six teams, two stints in free agency and five trades, Max’s homecoming dream came true when he signed a one-year, $3-million contract with the Leafs.
On Friday, Domi discussed what it meant to be joining the franchise he grew up loving in an interview on The FAN Drive Time with Ben Ennis.
“I wanted to wear this jersey for a long, long time and it’s been a dream of mine my whole life,” said Domi. “I kind of told myself, if I ever did get that call, I wouldn’t hesitate to make that decision to play here.”
Domi was born in Winnipeg during the 1995 offseason after his father had been traded by the Jets to the Leafs, and spent his childhood in the building formerly known as the Air Canada Centre, now Scotiabank Arena.
“I’ve grown up on all this stuff – it was pretty special, obviously a childhood that I don’t take for granted,” said the second-generation NHLer.
“It’s a privilege to be able to be around certain people like Mats Sundin, Ed Belfour, Gary Roberts, all these amazing legends in our game. To be able to experience that was pretty incredible.”
The forward started his career in Arizona after the Coyotes drafted him 12th overall in the 2013 NHL Draft. After spending three years in the desert, Domi had stops with the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes and Chicago Blackhawks before he was dealt to the Dallas Stars at this year’s trade deadline.
Domi’s strong 2022-23 season – when he scored 20 goals for the first time since a 28-goal season for the Canadiens in 2018-19 – made him a desirable asset at the deadline.
The 28-year-old cemented his value with an impactful post-season performance during the Stars’ Western Conference Final run. His 10 points in 19 games was fourth on Dallas and top 20 amongst all playoff scorers.
Domi was one of several free agents reeled in by new Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving to establish a greater physical edge.
The newly signed trio of Tyler Bertuzzi, Ryan Reaves and Domi racked up 143 penalty minutes combined last season, 82 of which came from Domi in what is a career-high total.
Playing in a Toronto sports market can be too much pressure for some, but Domi might also face expectations to emulate the game of his admired, record-setting (most penalty minutes in a season by a Maple Leaf) father.
Domi, however, is not intimidated, and is instead inspired by his father’s example.
“There’s far more positives that come with having a dad that’s a legend like that than the negative of people comparing (me) to him because we’re very different players,” said Domi. “I do try and implement all the positives of him being a good teammate, working hard every shift.”
