Max Domi
Having once been one of the most highly touted prospects during and shortly after being drafted, Max Domi has certainly had an interesting NHL career. After three so-so seasons with Arizona, including two consecutive seasons with under 10 goals, Domi was shipped to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk. Domi lasted only two seasons in Montreal but scored a career-high 72 points in his first season there. The following year, his total dropped to 44 points and went goalless in 10 playoff games.
Since then, he’s spent two years on a bad Blue Jackets team before joining the Hurricanes on their playoff run last year at the deadline. This past offseason, Domi bet on himself, signing a one-year, $3 million contract with a Chicago Blackhawks team dead set on selling and rebuilding.
COLE SILLINGER FIRST NHL POINT! He enters the zone and drops the puck to Max Domi who makes it 7-1 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 #CBJ pic.twitter.com/dNV3WPhzRv
— SpecmenceCBJ (@SpecmenceCBJ) October 15, 2021
Domi’s bet has paid dividends so far and turned himself into a sellable asset for the Hawks, having already posted nine goals and 10 assists in 26 games (as of December 12). For those keeping score at home, that is a 28-goal, 60-point pace over a full NHL season. On top of his positional flexibility, Domi plays an agitator style that the Devils lack. To unlock Domi’s potential, the team must keep him out of the box and on the ice to take advantage of other teams’ mistakes; Domi surprisingly hasn’t logged more than 100 minutes of time on the man-advantage since 2019-20.
The Blackhawks have already stockpiled a host of draft picks, but they’d probably seek even more for a low-budget asset like Domi. For the Devils, getting a player like Domi, who can take faceoffs and score next to Hughes can be invaluable in the long run.