Domi expressed a desire to return to Toronto during his end-of-season availability but arriving at a fair deal may be easier said than done.
Domi expressed a desire to return to Toronto during his end-of-season availability but arriving at a fair deal may be easier said than done.
When Max Domi spoke about his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs during his end-of-season media availability, the pending unrestricted free agent was asked point blank if he was interested in returning to the club.
"Absolutely," he said, without any hesitation.
According to the TSN's Pierre Lebrun, the conversation has started.
In his latest piece for The Athletic, Lebrun states that Domi's agent, Judd Moldaver and the Leafs have already had conversations with the Maple Leafs "expressing mutual interest in getting a deal done. But no numbers exchanged yet." he wrote.
The Leafs hold Domi's rights until July 1 and as a result, have an exclusive negotiating window to speak with players before the other 31 clubs can do so. The 29-year-old signed a one-year, $3 million deal with Toronto and it's believed that the player may be looking for more money and term this time around.
Domi had nine goals and 38 assists but perhaps his biggest asset was how he fit in on the right side of Auston Matthews with Mitch Marner unavailable due to injury. Even when Marner returned, Domi remained on the right flank of Matthews into the club's first-round playoff series with the Boston Bruins.
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LeBrun opines that five or six-year deal in the $5-6 million range gets the deal done, but does that fit with Toronto's plans? If a scenario presents itself where Marner, who had one year on his deal on his contract, is moved, a commitment to Domi becomes easier to facilitate.
Interest in Bertuzzi
Like Domi, the Maple Leafs have a mutual interest in bringing Tyler Bertuzzi back into the fold. But as Bertuzzi's agent, Todd Reynolds, points out, it will be tough.
“It’s early, but it’s out there that the Leafs want to re-sign him,” Bertuzzi’s agent Todd Reynolds told LeBrun. “We’ll see what happens here."
Bertuzzi joined the Leafs on a one-year, $5.5 million deal this past summer. And although he struggled to find his footing at the beginning of the season, he finished with 21 goals and 22 assists in 80 games.
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Reynolds frames the interest in Bertuzzi as someone who will be highly coveted given that he's played on the first line with the top players on the last three teams he's been on. Like Domi, I would think the 29-year-old Bertuzzi is also going to be looking for term.
The future of TJ Brodie with the Maple Leafs seems less likely
TJ Brodie struggled in the final year of his four-year, $20 million contract with the Leafs, going from a reliable top-four D-man to being scratched for all but one of the team's playoff games in 2024.
According to LeBrun, Brodie is expected to gather interest from some clubs, but all signs suggest that the 33-year-old could be playing somewhere else next season.
"He looks forward to playing in the National Hockey League next year, whether in Toronto or elsewhere, Brodie's agent, Paul Capizzano told LeBrun.
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