How Max Domi is using positivity to weather early-season struggles with Maple Leafs

TAMPA, Fla. — Anthony Duclair has known Max Domi since they were teenagers and isn’t surprised by his friend’s efforts to make a lot happen with the Toronto Maple Leafs out of the gate.

“He wants to prove to himself, first, that he can be an impact player,” Duclair, the San Jose Sharks forward, said of Domi coming to Toronto.

Having been roommates early in their NHL tenure together in Arizona, Duclair has seen Domi endure the ups and downs that come with playing in the NHL. So, too, has Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who has had a front-row seat to how plenty of players manage the ebbs and flows of playing in Toronto for the first time.

And right now, he’s seeing Domi in the middle of some early-season stumbles. 

“He’s got a lot going on in his head,” the Leafs coach said of the offseason acquisition, still while praising Domi’s work ethic and noting that the forward is trying to learn new systems early on.

When Leafs GM Brad Treliving signed Domi to a one-year, $3 million contract this offseason, Treliving was bullish on his new signing’s potential.

“I really believe that we are going to see the best version of Max,” Treliving said. “He has been dying to play in Toronto for a long time.”

But through four games as a Leaf, Domi has just one secondary assist at five-on-five and has yet to click with a variety of linemates. He began the season alongside John Tavares and William Nylander in an offensively-minded second line, but has since dropped to a new third line comprised of David Kämpf and Calle Järnkrok.

A lack of secondary scoring has become an early-season storyline for the Leafs. They need more production from players like Domi, who scored a combined 20 goals with the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars last season.

Of note, those aforementioned ups and downs in production aren’t new to Domi. He scored 18 of those 20 goals through 60 games with the Blackhawks before finding the back of the net just twice in 20 games with the Stars.

And Duclair has seen how his friend responds.

“Max gets very emotional, like we all do,” Duclair said.

Domi referenced how in previous teams he’s played for, and under the tutelage of the likes of Pete DeBoer or Rod Brind’Amour, he’s been asked to absorb plenty of information early and then been expected to contribute the same as any other high-profile addition would.

“You always want to have success right away. That’s just the nature of human beings,” Domi said after Friday’s practice. “Without failure or mess ups or screw-ups, you’re never going to have success.”

During Domi’s first nine games with the Stars after being acquired ahead of the 2023 trade deadline, he logged just three points. But he can feel confident with the benefit of experience; Domi ended up finishing fourth in scoring during a deep Stars playoff run with 13 points in 19 postseason games last season.

“It’s the NHL, it’s the best league in the world,” Domi said. “There’s a lot of challenges, right? But at the end of the day, that’s your job: To figure it out. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time.”

You don’t have to look any further than Domi’s persistent efforts to create offence than the four icings that were called in one of his shifts midway through the first period in a 3-1 loss against the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

“That’s got to be some sort of record. Four icings in one shift?” Domi said while flashing his wide, toothless grin. “I don’t think I’ve had four icings in my whole career.”

So how can Domi get on track?

Let’s start with that grin. For Domi to find his way in Toronto and begin contributing regular offence as a Leaf, he’s going to need to rely on the emotion he has in spades: constant positivity.

Even though the offence hasn’t come, there doesn’t appear to be any chance of Domi crawling into his shell. The change in scenery and temperature meant the Leafs spent their pre-practice workout outdoors Friday, behind the Tampa Bay Lightning practice facility. And Domi couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he quite literally bounced between teammates preparing for their afternoon practice.

Leaning into this attitude and keeping negativity at bay is going to be important for Domi as he learns what’s required of him on the ice and forms connections with new linemates.

“When he walks into a room, he fills the room,” former Arizona Coyotes teammate and current Leafs special advisor to the GM Shane Doan said. “People’s energy goes up when Max comes in the room. You want to be around people like that.”

And that consistent energy and positivity will be as important as ever for Domi. The Leafs hope that the seamless manner he’s adapted to the Leafs team off the ice will be reflected in more connectivity with his teammates on the ice.

Keefe’s thinking in lining Domi up with Kämpf and Järnkrok could be influenced by what Domi’s two new linemates bring in spades: defensive stability. There have been moments throughout Domi’s first four games as a Leaf that his questionable defensive positioning and efforts have hampered the various lines he’s played on. His defensive play needs to improve, yes. But by adding a defensive stalwart beside him, Domi himself might be freer to focus on his playmaking, one of the best aspects of his game. And Järnkrok possesses a dangerous shot and cracked the 20-goal mark for the first time last season, often alongside talented puck movers.

Some newfound stability could allow Domi to produce and naturally more confidence would follow.

“It seems like everywhere Järnkrok has been has been one of our best lines,” Keefe said Friday. “Having those two guys with (Domi) gives us three very experienced players in the league. It should really help us.”

The (very) early returns back up Keefe’s belief. Domi began Thursday’s game on a line with Fraser Minten and Järnkrok before those lines were thrown into a blender in the first intermission. Domi then began the second period alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Kämpf.

Domi ended up with 11:03 five-on-five TOI, his second-highest total of the short season and an impressive 86 percent five-on-five expected goals, per Natural Stat Trick.

Reason for optimism and the reason why Keefe and Domi have both — rightfully — practiced patience early this season.

“I think over time he’ll settle in,” Keefe said of Domi, “and we’ll see some more of his instincts come to the forefront.”

“We’re four games in right now,” Domi said, shrugging his shoulders. “No need to hit the panic button at all.”

Being unnerved isn’t a default emotion for Domi, even as he has yet to score for the team Duclair says is a “childhood dream” for his friend to be playing for. Domi wasn’t nervous about signing in Toronto, despite the pressure that comes with it.

That pressure is starting to emerge. But perhaps different from other people, Domi is welcoming it with a smile.

“It just brings the best out in some people,” Domi said.

(Top photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)