Max Domi signs with Maple Leafs as GM Treliving banks on throwbacks

TORONTO — Attention, diehard residents of ’90s Toronto Maple Leafs Nation: Hope you didn’t toss away those DOMI sweaters.

Fashion goes in cycles and those ’fits are fresh again.

Max Domi, one of the best available free agents still available on July 2, has signed a one-year, $3-million contract with father Tie’s former team.

Domi was asleep overseas when news of the deal was reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, likely why the paperwork wasn't finalized until Monday.

Bottom line: Max Domi, minimum term. Max nostalgia, minimum cap pressure.

The 28-year-old, middle-six forward was said to be hunting for a multi-year deal on the open market after already making good on a one-year, $3 million, prove-it contract with the Chicago Blackhawks last summer in free agency.

With the versatile, edgy Domi enjoying his most productive campaign in five seasons — 20 goals, 56 points with Chicago and Dallas, plus 13 playoff points in the Stars’ run to the Western Conference Final — he had positioned himself well for a raise.

And yet, just as new Leafs general manager Brad Treliving successfully pitched UFAs Tyler Bertuzzi and John Klingberg on one-year commitments, he executed the same sell with Domi. Without so much as a pay raise.

Surely, a chance to fly home and skate for his father’s old organization played a sentimental factor, but Toronto is a Stanley Cup contender and even more so on July 2 than it was on July 1.

Domi is once again betting his performance in a hockey-mad market, and with a talented top-nine forward group, can be a win for all involved. Especially with an eye toward the salary cap rising about five per cent in 2024-25.

Connections help.

Treliving served as Arizona’s assistant GM when the Coyotes drafted Domi 12th overall in 2013, and new Leafs assistant GM Shane Doan was a teammate of Domi’s during his superb 52-point rookie season.

Further, Leafs star Mitch Marner and Domi tore it up as teammates for two seasons with the OHL London Knights.

The 5-foot-10, 194-pound Domi is now on his seventh NHL club with stops in Arizona, Montreal, Columbus, Carolina, Chicago and Dallas already on his 581-game résumé.

Domi’s skillset should allow him to skate on the wing in the top six or slide in as a middle-six centre, depending on the situation.

Domi brings more offensive upside — and costs less — than Alexander Kerfoot ($3.5 million), the mid-lineup forward he ostensibly replaces on Toronto’s ledger.

The knock on the player is twofold: defence and discipline.

Despite starting 54.6 per cent of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone last season, 55 per cent of shot attempts were getting directed at his own net. He also set a career-high in 2022-23 with 82 minutes in penalties.

Now, part of that can be chalked up to skating for rebuilding teams.

So, it will be interesting to see how he performs with a playoff-ready squad for the full 82 games, something Domi has not done since he was the 2019-20 Canadiens.

Even with Jake Muzzin expected to go on LTIR, Treliving has extended beyond the cap ceiling by approximately $2.4 million to complete the deal. (All teams are permitted to exceed the cap by 10 per cent during the off-season.)

To get under the cap and sign RFA goalie Ilya Samsonov, Treliving can still make trades and/or complete a midsummer buyout. Matt Murray ($4.69 million cap hit) is a candidate here.

What’s clear is Treliving used his first free agency as GM to inject some nastiness into the Maple Leafs’ lineup: first Ryan Reaves, then Tyler Bertuzzi and now Domi.

If the names sound like Canadian hardnosed throwbacks, it’s because they are.