Domi finds magic touch
Friday, February 14, 2003
Sean Fitz-Gerald
National Post

Glenn Healy, retired goaltender and poet laureate of quirky hockey lore, knows Tie Domi still likes to fight. In fact, he said, the littlest Maple Leafs forward has been known to go out of his way in search of one.

"I can recall a situation in New Jersey where Krzysztof Oliwa and I were just having general talk -- you know, 'How are you doing?'" said Healy, a former Leafs backup. "[Domi] thought he was taunting our bench, and proceeded to knock him out ... It wasn't until after that I could explain to him that it was just a friendly talk, you know, that there's really no need to do that."

After spending the better part of his 14-year NHL career involved in dozens of similar incidents, it appears Domi has finally heeded the advice.

The 5-foot-10 bundle of rage is threatening to knock off his career highs in goals, assists and points with the Maple Leafs this season.

His goal against the Blackhawks in Chicago on Wednesday was Domi's 12th of the year -- one off his single-season best of 13, with 25 games left to play. He also has 10 assists and 22 points, not far off his best of 17 and 28, respectively.

He is still a feared heavyweight, to be sure, but Domi has evolved to the point where some of his best strikes are now on net and not into an opponent's face.

As a result, Toronto head coach Pat Quinn has rewarded the 33-year-old with an average of 11 minutes and one second of ice time a game, nearly 90 seconds more than his career average.

"He's in it for the long haul," said Nick Kypreos, a former Toronto teammate and current Sportsnet hockey analyst. "He wants to be known as someone who did the job that he was supposed to do, and he could also do a little bit more."

In his days as a junior player in North Bay, Ont., Kypreos was a high-scoring winger, a power forward who had impressive offensive statistics without offending the referees. In his last year with the Centennials, the Toronto native scored 49 goals and had 90 points with just 54 penalty minutes.

Like Domi, though, Kypreos found himself enlisted in an enforcer role when he moved to the NHL.

"You take a young kid that's coming out of junior -- you've got to put numbers on the board right away," he said. "If you don't they're going to find someone else to do it. So, it's, 'What else can you do for me?' "

For Domi -- publicly, at least -- fighting was a reluctant specialty. In his second year with the OHL's Peterborough Petes, the Windsor, Ont., native compiled 292 minutes in penalties in 60 games.

"I always thought I could play, but I guess I had more of a reputation as a fighter than anything else," he said in 1988, speaking as an 18-year-old prospect.

In two playoff runs with the Petes, Domi proved to be a valuable offensive presence, averaging more than a point a night over 19 post-season games. Still, his call to the NHL would have to be answered by his fists instead of his stick.

Though he is listed at 5-foot-10, it is a widely-accepted fact Domi may only reach that height while wearing a pair of platform skates. His success in the fight game has often been attributed to his low centre of gravity and his large, pumpkin-shaped head.

He developed a rivalry with the likes of Bob Probert, to the point where each meeting between the two would become an event unto itself.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, not a noted fight fan, is on record saying his favourite bouts involved these two heavyweights.

Healy, who works as an analyst for CBC, has his own favourite moment. It came when he was with the New York Islanders and saw then-teammate Ken Baumgartner fight Domi at Madison Square Garden.

"Ken Baumgartner, at the end of the fight -- a good fight -- put Tie's helmet on his head as they were going to the penalty box," he said. "Then he spun the helmet around -- because Tie has a rather huge cranium -- and it was like a top. It was the funniest look I've ever seen.

"Tie, not wanting to be outdone, went to the penalty box, took a towel, cut it up into long strips. He put it underneath his helmet when he left the penalty box to look like Ken Baumgartner's flowing blonde locks -- and then proceeded to whisk the towel, his hair, as he made his way across to the bench. It was like a movie. Slapshot."

Domi's antics continued when he landed in Toronto. He became the team's all-time penalty minutes leader with seasons such as '97-'98, where he spent 365 minutes -- some 21,900 seconds -- in the penalty box.

But his punching production has tailed off. He spent less time in the box last year than he had in almost a decade, and took 10 games to register his first fight this season.

"He has certainly evolved as a player since the very first time he was called up," Healy said.

For one, Domi has learned to harness his anger while displaying his under-rated speed. He is a cannonball in the corners on the forecheck, a 213-pound missile whose presence can scare an opponent off the puck.

His hands, surely bruised from years of fighting, have softened to the point where Quinn now sends him over the boards to skate in some power-play situations.

Off-ice, he has been honing his physique with the help of team fitness guru Gary Roberts.

Instead of preparing for only four minutes of ice a night, Healy said, Domi has done himself the favour of working out like he was expected to play much more. The result is increased stamina.

Another step in his reformation has been Toronto's presence in the playoffs. In the post-season, Healy said, there is no room for tough-guy antics.

A player like Domi has to learn to play with an edge. He has to be tough, but not violent to the point of penalty trouble -- where one power-play goal can be the difference between advancement and an early golf vacation.

"I'm sure he still gets his charge out of fighting," Kypreos said. "You can see the passion when he fights. There's a passion, but it's nowhere near where it was, because he's found a passion in developing his skills."