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Max Domi

Maple Leafs Sign Max Domi

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07/03/23: Toronto has now made their signing of Domi official.

They’ve also added depth center Dylan Gambrell on a one-year, $775k one-way deal, per PuckPedia. Gambrell, a 2016 second-round pick, scored four goals and 10 points in 60 games for the Ottawa Senators last season.

07/02/23 8:40 PM: The Maple Leafs and Domi are closing in on a one-year contract worth $3MM, Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets and TSN reports (Twitter link).  PuckPedia adds (Twitter link) that the deal will contain a 10-team no-trade clause.  Friedman tweets that the deal may not be made official until Monday.

07/02/23 6:26 PM: After adding Tyler Bertuzzi earlier today to help shore up their top six, it appears that the Maple Leafs aren’t necessarily done with their summer spending.  Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Toronto and Max Domi are in discussions about a contract for next season.

Considering that the Maple Leafs are staring down the cost of two pricey extensions that will be kicking in next season (Auston Matthews and William Nylander, or perhaps Bertuzzi himself if talks with Nylander stall out), it seems likely that the team would want to keep any agreement with Domi limited to a single season which they have accomplished here.  That would allow them to have as much flexibility as possible for those upcoming extensions.

The 28-year-old had to settle for a one-year contract last summer, inking a one-year, $3MM deal with Chicago.  That proved to be a wise decision for Domi who was moved back to center and responded with his second-best offensive performance, putting up 18 goals and 31 assists in 60 games before being dealt to Dallas at the trade deadline.  It took Domi a little while to settle in with his new club; he had just seven points in 20 games following the swap but was more productive for them in the playoffs, tallying 13 points in 19 games.

That was good enough to earn him the 11th ranking in our Top 50 UFA list last month with an expectation that he could finally land at least a medium-term agreement, something that has proven elusive for Domi lately.  Since his entry-level contract expired back in 2018, Domi has signed three separate deals, none longer than two seasons while playing for five separate teams during that stretch.  However, with this deal with the Maple Leafs, that streak of short-term contracts will continue.

In terms of where Domi might fit on Toronto’s depth chart, it seems like he could wind up taking the place of last year’s deadline acquisition Ryan O’Reilly, who inked a four-year contract with Nashville on Saturday.  That could see him centering the third line at times or moving up onto the second line, either as a winger or pushing John Tavares to the wing.  That type of versatility could certainly come in handy for the Maple Leafs while also giving Domi a chance to play in an offensive-minded environment in the hopes of bolstering his market for next summer when the salary cap is set to rise.

Fitting in a contract for Domi would appear to be tricky within Toronto’s current cap situation.  Per CapFriendly, the Maple Leafs have less than $600K in remaining LTIR room, assuming that Jake Muzzin is out for all of next season as expected.  That’s less than the league minimum salary and Domi will cost considerably more than that.

There’s also the matter of re-signing starting goaltender Ilya Samsonov who will be eyeing a considerable raise on the $1.8MM he made last season.  Having him file for salary arbitration to trigger a second buyout window would allow them to buy out Matt Murray but the $4MM in savings is likely to be needed to afford Samsonov’s next contract.  Accordingly, GM Brad Treliving is going to have to get creative to make the math work as he brings Domi into the fold to help bolster Toronto’s attack.

Free Agent Notes: Lucic, Halak, Domi/Glendening

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Veteran grinder Milan Lucic still has some hockey left in the tank and will be looking for a new home in 2023-24. While reports had connected him to playing for his hometown Vancouver Canucks, it now appears he’ll be joining another nostalgic franchise for him, per CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal – the Boston Bruins.

Coming off a monster seven-year, $42MM deal, Lucic won’t command much on the open market and isn’t suited for anything above a fourth-line role, especially for a team with playoff aspirations. Boston is in need of cheap forward depth, but it’s fair to question the use of precious cap space on a veteran who can provide little offense, especially with hard-nosed Trent Frederic already occupying the token bottom-six grinder role. It would be a nice career bookend for Lucic, though, who won a Stanley Cup in Boston in 2011 and had 342 points in 566 games there between 2007 and 2015.

More tidbits before the free agent market opens on Saturday:

  • One of the longest-tenured netminders in the league is looking to extend his career in 2023-24, but it could be with a new team. Player agent Allan Walsh said today his client, Jaroslav Halak, will hit the unrestricted free agent market on July 1 and won’t re-sign with the New York Rangers before then. Halak, 38, is now sorely planted in “serviceable backup” territory, but there are certainly worse options for the No. 2 spot on your depth chart. The veteran of 17 NHL seasons posted a 10-9-5 record, .903 save percentage, and one shutout in 24 starts (and one relief appearance) with the Rangers this season.
  • The Dallas Stars don’t have a lot of cap flexibility this offseason, and it was expected they’d only be able to re-sign one or two depth forwards hitting the open market. That’s holding true, as after the Stars signed Evgenii Dadonov to a two-year extension yesterday, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports both Max Domi and Luke Glendening will hit the open market. The Stars have $5.1MM in projected cap space, per CapFriendly, and still need an extension for pending restricted free agent Ty Dellandrea.

Stars Unlikely To Bring Back Both Domi And Dadonov

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Saad Yousuf of The Athletic wrote today that the Dallas Stars will be hard pressed to bring back both Max Domi and Evgenii Dadonov. Both forwards are unrestricted free agents who came over to the Stars in trade deadline moves and they were able to fit in well in their new environment. Dadonov had three goals and 12 assists in 23 games after coming over in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens while Domi had two goals and five assists in 20 games after the trade from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Both players had a similar journey to end up in Dallas, albeit at much different points in their careers. The 34-year-old Dadonov spent six seasons in Florida where he was quite productive putting up 202 points in 280 games before he signed with the Ottawa Senators as a free agent. He was traded three times in the span of a year before ending up in Dallas where he played quite well down the stretch.

28-year-old Domi on the other hand spent three seasons with the Arizona Coyotes where he posted 135 points in 222 games before he was dealt to Montreal, then the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Carolina Hurricanes. He signed a one year contract this past offseason with the Chicago Blackhawks before he was traded to Dallas at the deadline.

Yousuf writes in the article that Dallas general manager Jim Nill would love to have both players back, but cap space will likely be an issue. Dallas has just $7.4MM available for next season and based on the projections of Evolving Hockey Domi figures to get a contract around $4.4MM per year while Dadonov is projected to get $2.7MM. Those numbers would leave Nill with $300K to fill out two roster sports, not something that would be possible.

Yousuf sums up his article by saying that he expects Dadonov to be the likelier or the two to return to the club but doesn’t dive too deep into his logic. While cost is always a factor, Dadonov has struggled to fit in with previous clubs and really thrived under head coach Pete DeBoer. Given that close relationship between player and coach it is possible that Dadonov will select comfort level over money on his next contract. Especially after he was dealt four times during his previous deal.

West Notes: Domi, Savard, Weegar, Masters, Puistola

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Stars center Max Domi profiles as one of the top options on what is a thin UFA market for middlemen this summer but he told reporters including Joseph Hoyt of the Dallas Morning News that he’s hoping to remain with the team.  Acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline, the 28-year-old didn’t make too much of an immediate impact with only seven of his 56 points coming with Dallas but he was more productive in the playoffs, notching 13 points in their 19 contests.

Since his entry-level deal expired back in 2018, Domi hasn’t signed a contract longer than two years but indicated that getting some more stability would be something he’d like to do.  Meanwhile, with the Stars having a little over $7MM in projected cap space per CapFriendly and several forwards needing to be signed with that money, finding a financial fit could be tricky as Domi will certainly be looking for a raise on the $3MM he made this season.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Add Marc Savard’s name to the long list of head coaching candidates in Calgary as TSN’s Darren Dreger reported in a recent Insider Trading segment that the long-time NHL center is also under consideration. Savard has spent the last two seasons coaching with OHL Windsor and also has a single season behind an NHL bench, serving as an assistant in St. Louis in 2019-20.  The Flames are seeking a new bench boss after letting Darryl Sutter go at the beginning of the month.
  • Still with the Flames, MacKenzie Weegar has a new agent as Nick Riopel of Propulsion Sports Agency announced (Twitter link) that they are now representing the blueliner. He had previously been with Mazerolle & Lemay.  Weegar will begin his new contract next season, an eight-year deal that carries an AAV of $6.25MM, making him Calgary’s highest-paid defenseman.
  • Wild prospect Kyle Masters was quickly ruled out for the rest of the Memorial Cup after suffering an injury in Kamloops’ second game but he’ll be out for a while longer as Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that the lower-body injury will keep the blueliner sidelined for three months. While that means he should be ready for the start of training camp, it will certainly affect his summer training, hardly ideal as he looks to make the jump to playing with AHL Iowa next season.  Masters had 65 points in 66 games with the Blazers this season.
  • The Oilers are not expected to sign prospect Patrik Puistola in advance of tomorrow’s deadline, reports Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal (Twitter link). The 22-year-old was acquired as part of the Jesse Puljujarvi deal back in February and had a strong season with Jukurit in Finland’s top division, notching 40 points in 60 games.  However, Puistola is already under contract overseas through next season meaning Edmonton would have had to wait even longer to get him in North America.

Afternoon News: Capitals, Howden, Maple Leafs

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic wrote a piece today that highlighted the nine forwards he believes would fit what the Washington Capitals are looking for this offseason. El-Bashir begins the piece by shining a light on the salary cap crunch that will leave the Capitals with around $5MM in cap space this summer. That leaves Washington with precious little space to work with, however El-Bashir quickly points out that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha are both trade options that are finding their names on a lot of trade boards.

El-Bashir feels that Washington won’t target players over 30 given their age and Washington’s precarious cap situation. He lists Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Brown, Andreas Athanasiou, Ivan Barbashev, Michael Bunting, J.T. Compher, Max Domi, Pierre Engvall, and Evan Rodrigues as the likely targets for Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. Washington has an extensive group of forwards signed to contracts for next season but have a glaring hole on the right wing. Given the cost and the need I would likely put current Capitals forward Connor Brown near the top of the list. Brown was acquired from the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick last summer but only dressed in four games before suffering a season ending ACL injury in his right knee.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights was on the ice for the team’s morning skate ahead of their game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars. Granger reported yesterday that the 25-year-old center had tweaked a lower body injury in game 2 and tried to play through it but couldn’t. Howden missed game 3 and given that he’s seen a lot of time in Vegas’ top-6 as of late, his return would be a welcome boost if he can dress tonight. Howden had a pedestrian regular season with 13 points in 54 games, however in these playoffs he has three goals and three assists in 14 games. Vegas has a chance to sweep Dallas this evening.
  • Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote an opinion piece today about why former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving checks so many of the boxes that Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be looking to tick. McGran highlights Treliving’s experience in Calgary working in a collaborative environment with former president of hockey ops Brian Burke. Toronto’s future general manager would be tied to Shanahan as well as the board of MLSE, it is a job that is different from some other NHL clubs, however Treliving has worked within a similar structure. McGran also cites Treliving’s penchant for having the guts to make bold moves, Treliving spent last summer overhauling the Calgary Flames out of necessity by trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar as well as signing Nazem Kadri as a free agent.

Max Domi Fined For Slashing Mark Stone

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The fallout continues from last night’s heated Game 3 of the Western Conference Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars. The NHL Department of Player Safety announced this morning that Stars forward Max Domi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for slashing Golden Knights captain Mark Stone.

Just hours earlier, DoPS said Stars captain Jamie Benn would have a hearing today for cross-checking Stone earlier in the game.

This is Domi’s third fine in his career, and his first stemming from a playoff incident. In 2016, while a member of the Arizona Coyotes, Domi lost $4,641 as part of an automatic one-game suspension handed out for instigating a fight within the final five minutes of regulation. While with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2021, he was fined $5,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Referees did not penalize Domi for the slash, although he was given a roughing, cross-checking, and misconduct penalty stemming from an altercation with Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague.

With Benn facing suspension and likely unavailable for Game 4, Domi is a candidate to receive more minutes in a do-or-die matchup Thursday at home. The 28-year-old trade deadline acquisition has 11 points in 16 playoff games with the Stars, tied with Benn for fourth on the team.

Tyler Seguin Leaves Game With Cut On Leg

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The Dallas Stars have announced that forward Tyler Seguin won’t be returning to tonight’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. Seguin left the game with what TSN is reporting as a laceration above his knee after he was cut by a skate.

Seguin becomes the third high profile NHLer to suffer a severe cut this season after Ryan Johansen was cut by a blade on his ankle, and Evander Kane had a frightening scene when he had wrist cut against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

With the NHL GM meetings set to take place next week, one has to wonder if the issue of cuts from skate blades will make its way onto the docket. The horrific Kane injury is one that most people will not forget. Player safety is always an issue and with this recent trend it could make for interesting dialogue should changes be discussed.

If Seguin is out long term, it would be a big blow to a Dallas Stars team that is leading the Central Division. Seguin has 17 goals and 42 points in 64 games this season and has been playing much more of a 200-foot game for head coach Peter DeBoer. Should the 31-year-old miss substantial time it would likely mean moving youngster Ty Dellandrea onto the third line to play wing next to newcomer Max Domi.

Dallas Stars Acquire Max Domi

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7:00 am: The Stars confirmed late last night that Khudobin and a 2025 second-round pick are heading to Chicago in exchange for Domi and Wells.

6:52 pm: It appears the Dallas Stars have found their forward to put alongside Tyler Seguin. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports that the Stars have acquired forward Max Domi, along with minor-league goalie Dylan Wells, from their division rival Chicago Blackhawks. 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs hero Anton Khudobin and a second-round pick are heading the other way, with no salary retained in the deal.

Playing primarily on a line with now-former Blackhawk Patrick Kane, Domi has enjoyed one of the better statistical seasons of his career. With 49 points in 60 games on the low-scoring Blackhawks, Domi is on pace to have the best season of his career since 2018-19. One of Domi’s most notable improvements has been inside the faceoff dot. With a career faceoff percentage of 48.1%, Domi has bumped up his success rate to 53.7% this year. As Stars’ faceoff weapon Luke Glendening remains out with injury, Dallas will have the benefit of employing Domi in a lot of important situations.

Chicago receives a second-round pick, bringing their total of draft picks in the first two rounds up to a whopping 14 in the next three years. It recoups value for Domi at the deadline, fulfilling Chicago’s initial plan when they signed him and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year contracts last offseason.

They also receive Khudobin in the deal, who, despite slipping down to ’buried in the minors’ status in the Stars depth chart, could serve a purpose in the NHL for the Blackhawks. Both Petr Mrazek and Alex Stalock have had injury-prone seasons, forcing young goalies like Arvid Soderblom and Jaxson Stauber into NHL action maybe earlier than they’d like. Khudobin gives them an additional recall option and allows Soderblom and Stauber to hold the fort with AHL Rockford in what could be a lengthy playoff run. The 36-year-old Khudobin has yet to play in the NHL this season and has a .899 save percentage in 24 appearances with AHL Texas.

Seravalli was the first to report that Khudobin would be included in the trade, while Sportsnet’s Eric Engels was the first to report an unnamed AHL netminder and a second-round pick would be included in the trade.

Metropolitan Notes: Fletcher, Konecny, Engvall, Barzal, Domi

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Speaking with reporters today (video link), Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher discussed his plans for the upcoming trade deadline.  Unsurprisingly, the team plans to sell and he acknowledged that the bulk of the discussions so far have been regarding players on expiring contracts, particularly winger James van Riemsdyk.  However, he made a point to say that he doesn’t intend for the team to go into a scorched-earth rebuild which suggests that Philadelphia’s deadline activity could be somewhat limited if they primarily deal with moving players on expiring contracts.  Fletcher also mentioned that they don’t plan to add too many players from Lehigh Valley to allow them to continue to battle for a spot in the AHL playoffs.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Also from Fletcher’s press conference, he indicated that winger Travis Konecny is going to miss at least a few more weeks due to his upper-body injury. With the Flyers not heading for the playoffs, the GM indicated that it’s possible that there isn’t enough time for him to return this season.  The 25-year-old is seven points shy of matching his career-high of 61 but at this point, it doesn’t seem likely that Konecny will be able to get there.
  • While the Islanders quickly signed Bo Horvat to a contract extension after acquiring him, don’t expect that to be the case for their latest acquisition in Pierre Engvall. GM Lou Lamoriello told Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that they’ll “take one thing at a time” with the winger but acknowledged that he’s someone that he’d like to keep beyond this season.  Engvall, who carries a $2.25MM AAV, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has 21 points in 58 games so far.
  • In a separate tweet, Gross relays that center Jean-Gabriel Pageau has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury that has kept him out for the last two and a half weeks. Pageau has 29 points in 58 games this season and plays more minutes than any Islanders forward on the penalty kill, a unit that’s one of the strongest in the league; getting him back would certainly be a boost to a New York squad that’s trying to hold onto a Wild Card spot.
  • A year ago, the Hurricanes acquired Max Domi as a rental player just before the trade deadline. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that Domi is once again on Carolina’s radar heading into this week’s deadline.  The 27-year-old had seven points in 19 games with the Hurricanes last season and has been quite productive with the Blackhawks this year, notching 49 points in 59 games.  Accordingly, the price that it will take to get him this time around should be considerably higher than the mid-round prospect and a minor leaguer that it cost them in 2022.

Latest On Max Domi

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When the Chicago Blackhawks went out and signed Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to one-year deals when free agency opened last summer, their goals seemed rather transparent. The club would give them regular minutes in offensive situations to pump up their statistics, and then flip them at the trade deadline for whatever they could get. The Blackhawks aren’t expected to compete this season or next, so it didn’t really matter how well they fit in – only that they secured a future asset in a midseason trade.

While that still may be the case, at least one of them is hoping the Blackhawks change their minds. Domi spoke at length with Scott Powers of The Athletic, explaining that he wants to stay in Chicago and help the club through this rebuild, instead of just being a half-season footnote in it.

Perhaps that is because of how well things have gone so far for Domi, at least in terms of production. The 27-year-old forward is playing center again, regularly lining up beside Patrick Kane, and averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time. He has 12 goals and 28 points in 39 games, a pace he hasn’t experienced since he put up 72 in 82 games for the Montreal Canadiens in 2018-19. If the club could win, even a little bit more, things might seem pretty perfect for the pending free agent.

The question is, whether Chicago believes Domi can be a key contributor even once they have gone through the rebuilding process and have a lot more talent on the roster. Will he still be so effective if separated from Kane? He gave them a quick look at that future last night when Kane was held out of the lineup. Domi recorded two points including the overtime winner on a beautiful finish, set up by one of the future roster pillars Lukas Reichel.

Perhaps that glimpse is enough to convince general manager Kyle Davidson and the rest of the Blackhawks front office that Domi is a piece to keep around, instead of flip. But there will likely be some tempting offers. Remember, this is basically going exactly according to plan if you consider Chicago’s position. Lose most of your games, but show just enough fight to keep fans interested for the future, while pumping certain players enough to get even more draft capital for them at the deadline. Slowly transition to the young talent – Reichel scored his first NHL goal earlier in the game – with an eye still firmly planted on Connor Bedard and the top of the 2023 draft class.

Davidson has made it clear in the past that he’ll stick to his plan, and move players no matter how well they might fit into the picture right now. So even if Domi wants to stay, the Blackhawks might have other ideas.

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