FEATURE | Max Domi Had A Breakout Season for the Habs. Is He About to Become One of the Montreal Canadiens’ Leaders?
ROCKET SPORTS MEDIA — On the night of June 15, 2018, the Montreal Canadiens traded Alex Galchenyuk, one of their most offensive but most scrutinized players for underachieving Coyote’s forward Max Domi.
It was one year earlier to the day, that Bergevin traded Mikhail Sergachev for forward Jonathan Drouin. The year before that, it was the trade that shook the hockey world: P.K Subban for Shea Weber.
In my opinion, the Habs look like the clear winners of the Weber and Domi trades. Both Galchenyuk and Subban have been traded to new teams. I’m not ready yet to determine a victor of the Drouin-Sergachev trade. It will likely be debated for years.
Did the Coyotes give up on Domi too early? He is a high-energy player who was a human highlight real in junior hockey with the London Knights. Domi had a great rookie season with the Coyotes, putting up 52 points, but was injured the following season and had a hard time scoring goals afterwards.
He only reached nine goals in two consecutive seasons including one where he played a full 82 games. Domi was on a weak and young Coyotes team and his play suffered because of it. Domi plays with a lot of emotion and he enjoyed playing for the Coyotes faithful but I believe it was hard for him to be excited and play his game.
Domi grew up in the bright lights of Toronto, in the shadow of his father, former Leafs’ enforcer Tie Domi. The younger Domi was familiar with being in the spotlight and enjoyed every second of it. In his junior career Domi was the star for one of the most exciting teams and one with the largest fan base.
My theory is that the move to Montreal had to excite Domi, from a small market team to one of the most historic teams in the league reminding him how he fell in love with the game as a kid in Toronto. Playing for the Canadiens sparked something, as Domi put up career highs in every category while handling the position change from the wing to center. Domi finally gave the Habs a centre who could contribute offensively.
It was a bit of rocky start for Domi as he was suspended for the pre-season after an altercation with Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad. It made fans a little nervous but it didn’t take long until Domi got into a groove. Not only did Domi put up career numbers but his team first attitude, energy, speed, and physicality drove the play.
Domi is not the biggest player, standing at 5-feet-10-inches, 193 pounds, but he plays like one. Domi rarely backs down, often instigating contact, winning puck battles and when he has to, dropping the gloves. He instantly became a fan favourite with his playing style but the work is far from over. Last season Domi thrived in transition, often exploding out of the defensive zone through the neutral zone backing defenders off allowing him to get a shot on goal.
The cause for concern for Domi is his shooting percentage was high at 13.8 percent, compared to a career average of 8.7 percent. The league average last season was 9.5 percent so it’s safe to say that Domi’s production will drop.
Domi put up 203 shots last season, about 50 shots more than his two prior seasons. The most elite shooters reach over 300 shots a game, and Domi will need to either maintain or increase his shot rate.
Brendan Gallagher led the Habs with 302 shots last season which helped him to have his second 30+ goal season. Domi who can play a similar game as Gallagher while on the fore-check needs to duplicate Brendan when he has the puck and not pass up a shot. While Domi is more of a playmaker, shooting more can help him to become a consistent 30-goal scorer.
After setting career highs Domi will be an RFA at the end of next season. The Habs signed Domi to a two-year deal after trading for him, with a cap hit of $3.15 million. If Domi can repeat his production he will be in line for a raise.
If Domi continues to elevate his game this season the Habs have to take a risk and sign him to a long term contract. The following chart may be somewhat misleading but simply includes Domi with players who had similar point totals last season.
Player Goals Assists Points Salary ($M)
Mark Stone 33 40 73 7.35
Dylan Larkin 32 41 73 6.10
Matt Duchene 31 39 70 6.00
Logan Couture 27 43 70 6.00
Tomas Hertl 35 39 74 5.625
Gabriel Landeskog 34 41 75 5.571
Max Domi 28 44 72 3.150
The comparison is quite simplistic as each player has other qualities that increases and decreases his value. In Domi’s case, I expect that another solid season reaching the 70-point mark can earn him a contract above $6.5 million.
The Habs have to be cautious with a number of player contracts expiring after the 2021-22 season and can’t throw the bank at Domi. If Domi can prove this season that last year wasn’t a one-time thing a six-year or eight-year deal from $6.75 – $7.25M could make sense for the Habs.
Domi will be entering the prime of his career and I believe Domi that he will sign long term. There may be a move back to the wing in his future but I expect another successful season. I am confident that Domi will be a big part of the bright future that is ahead for the Montreal Canadiens.
By Sam Gerber, Staff Writer.
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