"He chose in his heart": Wayne Gretzky loves Max Domi joining Leafs
If Max Domi already didn’t have enough pressure on his upcoming tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, he’s now got just about the highest level of approval a hockey player can hope for.
Though Domi — son of former Leafs fan favourite Tie — has been around NHL dressing rooms his entire life, the 28-year-old forward received the blessing of the league’s all-time leading scorer, Wayne Gretzky, for his choice to sign with his hometown team.
“Tie can help him with all the stress and pressure that other cities maybe don’t have. But I think this is a really nice signing for not only Max but for the Maple Leafs,” Gretzky said in an interview with the Leafs Morning Take podcast.
Though he won’t be donning No. 28 like his father did during his tenure in Toronto, the younger Domi will still have a slew of immediate fans simply due to his surname.
Domi’s deal with Toronto is a one-year, $3 million contract, which Gretzky is a fan of.
“One of the things that I’m really impressed with is that Max had some offers, two- or three-year offers to go to other cities, and he chose in his heart, ‘I’m going to go [to Toronto]. I’m going to take a little bit less money. I want to be a leaf and show people that I can earn another contract,'” Gretzky said, paraphrasing Domi. “That’s what you want as an organization. You want your guys to be hungry, right? And good for Max. I think he’s going to do great in Toronto.”
Since being drafted in 2013, Domi has played eight seasons for six teams: the Montreal Canadiens, Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, and Columbus Blue Jackets, where he has 121 goals and 249 assists in 581 games.
Domi’s best season came in 2018-19 with Montreal, where he put up 28 goals and 44 assists for 72 points across 82 games.
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