This off season promises to be a big one for Marc Bergevin, he’s got cap space, he’s got disposable assets and he’s in a position of power compared to the GMs who are pushed against the cap. He’s got 4 players who are restricted free agents (Domi, Hudon, Ouellet, Mete) and 3 who are unrestricted free agents (Weise, Folin and Kinkaid). Chances are, he’ll let those UFAs walk, Weise was mostly invisible in the playoffs and is pretty much at the end of the line, Folin couldn’t pierce the line-up and most everyone is trying to forget Kinkaid ever played for the Habs. It’s a different story for the RFAs however especially since Max Domi, the team leading scorer in 2018-2019 with 72 points, is amongst them.
Domi’s first season was an unmitigated success, he played centre, had fairly regular line mates and racked up a career high 72 points. For most of the season, Jonathan Drouin was on his line alongside either Andrew Shaw of Artturi Lehkonen. His second season was a very different story... In 71 games he could only gather 44 points and come playoffs time, he found himself centering the Habs fourth line alongside Dale Weise and Jordan Weal. In fact, for most of the year he had turnstile on his wings playing with Drouin, Armia, Lehkonen, Weal, Suzuki, Byron, Cousins, Gallagher (for a few games) and even Charles Hudon at times. It’s rather rare that a team will put its top scorer through this kind of parade line mates wise.
I’ll admit it, I thought Domi would come out swinging in the playoffs as it was his last chance to prove himself before negotiating his new contract, but that’s not what happened. He rejoined the team late, wanting to minimize his risk of contracting Covid-19 since he suffers from diabetes, and when he did, he was inserted on the 4th line between Weal and Weise. This wasn’t Julien’s plan to ease him in but rather the position at which he wanted Domi to play. His argument being that he needed 4 balanced lines to play against Pittsburgh. Once Julien made way for Muller behind the bench after experiencing chest pains, Domi got himself a promotion and notched 3 assists in one game, but those would be his only points of the post season. By game 6 he was playing wing alongside Kotkaniemi and he was mainly invisible.
Guy Boucher made a good point on RDS. He thinks there’s one player who has the skills and character to replace Gallagher: Max Domi. #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/TXEPGA1deR
While Domi played centre all through his minor league hockey years, he was pushed to the wing when playing for the London Kinghts in the OHL. Back then, his team traded for Greg McKegg who had 92 points in 66 games with the Otters during the previous season. In 4 seasons with the Knights, Domi only spent half of one as a centre, playing left wing for the rest of his junior career. The Coyotes then tried to put him back at centre with mitigated results.
When Montreal traded to get Domi in the summer of 2018, they were struggling mightily to build their centre line. The Drouin at centre experiment had been a failure, Kotkaniemi had just been drafted and while Danault was improving season after season, he’s not the guy you want as your number one centre. Domi came in and had a career year piloting the Habs second line while Tatar, Danault and Gallagher became the first line. This year, those 3 stayed together since their chemistry was undeniable but someone else became part of the equation: Nick Suzuki. The rookie started the year on the wing of the fourth line but by the time the pandemic shut the league down, he had usurped Domi as the 2nd line centre. Furthermore, after the restart, a rested Suzuki was even better and the new and improved Kotkaniemi seemed ready to play a more important role with the team.
The Canadiens were thrilled with Suzuki and Kotkaniemi’s performance in the playoffs, it appears that they are now ready to take the lead at centre with Danault being able to slot in at 3rd centre in a more defensive role. As for the 4th line, Jake Evans who had started centering it when Nate Thompson was traded, showed that he was solid and reliable and that he could do the job very well going forward. What does this all mean? Well, it means it’s time for a reality check for Max Domi. As Bergevin said in his post-mortem, the Canadiens still own Max Domi’s rights for at least 2 years and if Domi takes a long hard look at the line-up, he’ll see that there isn’t any room left for him at centre with the Habs. Much like in London, he’ll have to move over to the wing to continue plying his trade in the red, white and blue.
The good news for Domi is however that the Canadiens do need scoring wingers. If one thing was clear in the post season it’s that the Canadiens have elite goaltending but if they want to become a Stanley Cup contender, they need to put the puck in the net much more often. In his last 3 years in London, Domi registered 87,93 and 102 points. If he puts his mind to it and embraces this new role on the wing, I really think that he can be a part of this Canadiens team. Much was written this last season about Domi wanting to be a centre and not a winger, but the truth of the matter is; it’s not up to him.
What kind of contract can Domi expect to get from the Canadiens? Well, his agent will probably try to approach the negotiation saying that his client did have a 72 points season which is a rare feat in Montreal, but the Habs will retorque that it was followed by a 44 points one. When the Canadiens signed him to a two-year bridge deal after acquiring him from Arizona, they more than likely told him to prove himself and that they’d sign him to a longer-term pact afterwards. Since then though, things have changed. For one, he has had 2 very different season and for two, the cap is now flat. Teams are going to be very careful committing a lot of money for a lot of years. Domi’s cap hit was 3,150,00 for the last two years so he can probably expect a raise but not a huge one. If he really wants to make the big bucks, he’ll have to accept another “prove yourself” deal from Montreal because, on the basis of his recent performances, there’s no way Bergevin will want to break the bank for him and nor should he.
This season, both Tyler Toffoli and Tom Wilson also got 44 points. Toffoli was on the last year of a contract that gave him 4.6 M per year while Wilson was in the 2nd year of a 5-year deal that gives him 5.165 M per. Unlike Domi, Toffoli will be an UFA this offseason and it will be interesting to see how much he can get on the open market. He’s currently injured but since he was traded to Vancouver, he’s been on their top 6. As for Wilson, he’s been a regular fixture on Alexander Ovechkin’s line for the last 2 seasons, getting between 35 and 45 points in the last few seasons, bringing a lot of toughness and getting under their opponents’ skin.
At the same time, Jonathan Drouin is making 5.5 M per with the Habs and his career high in points is 53. You can be sure that Domi’s agent, Pat Brisson, is all too aware of this. I’m guessing Bergevin will try to sign Domi for 2 years with a price tag between 4.5 and 5 M a year, but Domi will no doubt want more… Considering Domi has got arbitration rights, this might be how this one get settled but it would be better for both parties if it didn’t get to that. No player likes to receive a brief in which their team explains why they are worth less than they think in excruciating details. Furthermore, considering the cap will remain flat for next season, I don’t see many players breaking the bank this summer and some players might just have to adjust their expectations.
Of course, there are those who are done with Domi and would like to see him shipped out of town, but I don’t think it would be wise for the Canadiens to do that. There is potential there and we’ve seen it, this is the kind of player that could come and haunt you back if you decide to give up on him. What this team need is a Domi committed to making an offensive impact and who feels free to get emotionally involved in the games. Yes, that Domi will take the odd penalty here and there but much like Gallagher, that Domi can get under opponents’ skin. He just needs to learn to do it the right way and what better teacher could he have than Brendan Gallagher?
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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