Max Domi getting his best chance to show the Maple Leafs his value

Last season wasn’t great for Max Domi. This season hasn’t been great either. One point in six games isn’t ideal, but slow starts might be part of the expectation for Max. He had six points through his first 22 games last season, and it took him until game 23 until he picked up his first goal last season.

Like last season, Domi has spent more time than you’d wish for playing centre. Despite being solid in the faceoff circle there isn’t much of a case for keeping Domi at centre. His zone entries and exits leave plenty to be desired, there are discipline issues, defensive issues, and with one point in six games it is safe to say that offence is becoming an issue too. Consistency is a challenge when it comes to offence and if a Domi centered line is required to create offence and it isn’t, moving on is critical.

The centre situation is why Domi deserves a look on the wing. His past two seasons have numbers weighted by him filling in at a position he shouldn’t be playing. You could point out that his best seasons came when was playing centre (Montreal in 2018-19 and Chicago in 2022-23) and you wouldn’t be wrong, but unquestionably the best run Max Domi has had as a Leaf came when he was playing on a line with Tyler Bertuzzi and Auston Matthews. Revisiting that with Knies as the upgraded version of Bertuzzi makes some sense when Easton Cowan and Matias Maccelli haven’t been able to claim that coveted role. If Domi’s calling card is his playmaking, setting up two of the Leafs top goal scorers should be the ideal fit for him.

Domi put up ten points (nine assists) in 12 games in 2023-24 when Mitch Marner was absent from the Leafs and Domi was primarily playing with Matthews. Bertuzzi picked up nine points in that time and Matthews had an impressive ten goals and 19 points in that stretch. The line worked and Domi is being gifted an opportunity to take another run at it.

That’s not to say that Domi is complete lost cause if this doesn’t pan out. Domi as offensively charged addition to a Nicolas Roy line might work as well as Roy knows that he’s signed up for some tough defensive zone heavy lifting. There’s also some value in Domi as a left-handed faceoff option on a line that features righty Nicolas Roy. The key is to find a player who can complement Roy’s defensive zone coverage while potentially being a finisher for Domi to look for in the offensive zone.

The thing is, Domi being better on the wing might be a false narrative.

Here are his numbers at centre vs. wing in 2023-24 (using five faceoffs or less as wing and 6 or more as centre):

Domi was more disciplined at centre, scored more goals, but had fewer overall points per game when playing centre but was at least still over 0.5 ppg.

The numbers for Domi at centre in 2024-25 were stronger than 2023-24:

It’s starting to look like playing wing was more about the bump from playing with Auston Matthews than being on the wing in 2023-24 rather than wing being the answer. This is just the offensive side of things and there are obvious defensive pitfalls with Domi at centre and for what it’s worth Domi’s plus-minus was better in both seasons when he took five or fewer faceoffs (which I fully acknowledge might also point to sheltering him as centre and not a guarantee of him playing wing or Domi potentially being used as a faceoff guy for another centre, it’s not perfect.)

The main takeaway might be that Domi needs talented offensive players who can cover for him defensively to thrive and on the Leafs that means playing him with Matthews. If Domi will thrive it will be in this situation otherwise it is time to start looking at Domi through a similar lens of players like Calle Jarnkrok or Nick Robertson and not necessarily treat him as an everyday NHLer.