Domi: Warrior or scorer?

Dec. 23, 2002
Ken Campbell
The Toronto Star

Leaf on pace for new low in PIMs, new high in goals Fans vote him the NHL's most talented tough guy

On its NHL telecast last Friday night, TSN conducted a viewer poll asking who is the most talented tough guy in the NHL and Maple Leafs right-winger Tie Domi finished on top by a comfortable margin.

So does that mean Domi, who is enjoying a career offensive season, really is the best of the bad boys?

"Gosh, I don't know," Domi said. "I'm playing with some skilled players and I'm just trying to make the most of that. Most of my career, I've been spotted on the top three lines, but never on a consistent basis the way I have been this year."

Whether the 33-year-old Domi is the most talented tough guy in the league depends on several factors, the first being how the term "tough guy" is defined. With eight goals and 14 points in 34 games, Domi is clearly the top offensive producer and the most relied-upon of players who fit the conventional mould of enforcer. At the very least, he has elevated himself out of the knuckle-dragging crowd and into a group that includes the likes of the Red Wings' Darren McCarty and the Canadiens' Randy McKay. He has certainly outplayed such contemporaries as Rob Ray (zero points), Matthew Barnaby (4-6-10), Sandy McCarthy (1-4-5), Donald Brashear (3-5-8) and Andre Roy (5-5-10) this season.

But again, it depends on what defines a tough guy. There may not be a player in the league who is tougher, pound-for-pound, than Peter Forsberg. Todd Bertuzzi is a fearsome physical force who has a great touch around the net, as do Bill Guerin and Keith Tkachuk, all of whom are significantly more talented than Domi.

And there has to be some question as to whether Domi even fits into the traditional tough guy category anymore. Sure, his 58 penalty minutes this season leads the Leafs by a large margin and would be tops on 11 other teams in the NHL, but going into last night's games, it tied him with Turner Stevenson for 29th in the NHL.

If Domi keeps up at this pace, he'll record a career-low 140 penalty minutes this season. To put that into perspective, consider that he had 159 in 1994-95, the year the NHL season was limited to just 48 games because of the lockout.

Once a threat to challenge Tiger Williams' NHL record of 3,966 career penalty minutes, Domi and his 3,085 minutes may not be able to do more than surpass No. 3 Marty McSorley and his 3,381 penalty minutes. Domi came into this season averaging 3.86 penalty minutes per game and has never had a season in which he has averaged fewer than two per game, but is averaging just 1.7 this year.

But Domi is also on pace to score a career-high 19 goals and 34 points this season and currently is tied for fourth on the Leafs in goals. He's also playing more and with better offensive players than ever before. In Saturday night's 3-3 tie with the San Jose Sharks, Domi was held pointless but logged 15:26 of ice time and was on with Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny late in overtime as the Leafs were pressing for the winner.

"I've been challenged every year by Pat (Maple Leafs coach Quinn) to be a better player," Domi said, "and every year I've tried to do that."

A regular on the third line with Robert Reichel at centre and Jonas Hoglund at left wing, Domi is getting an opportunity that he has rarely received during his career. And while most players establish themselves as offensive players, then sometimes have to fight to hang on to their careers, Domi appears to be doing things the other way around.

"I've tried to change with the game," Domi said. "A lot of people thought I was crazy when I said I was happy about the new rules, but I knew they would help me because I always knew that skating was my biggest asset, along with my toughness."

Domi has long been underrated as a skater. He consistently finishes in the top three in the team's skills competition skating race and has been able to find holes more easily this year with less obstruction.

"Confidence is a big part of all of it," Domi said. "Once you get productive and you adjust to who you're playing with, your confidence just takes off."