The popular pugilist, who had complained during an emotional contract negotiation with Toronto that he was being taken for granted, inked a new deal with the club last night.

Domi, 35, will earn $2.5 million (all figures U.S.) over the next two seasons and says this will be the last NHL team for which he plays.

"It's obviously a good feeling that I'm going to end my career and retire as a Maple Leaf," he told Sportsnet.

A Leaf for the past decade and a player who captured the hearts of the faithful by standing up for his teammates, the right winger was distraught earlier this week when he was not signed before the Monday noon deadline that would have prevented him from becoming an unrestricted free agent.

It was believed he was being offered a one-year deal at $850,000. That got nudged up to $1 million but, after being slated to earn $1.9 million during the forfeited lockout campaign, he said he had no choice but to explore several other serious offers.

"If I was really wanted here, I wouldn't have made it to 12:01. People have short memories about what you do for a team," he told the Star.

Domi said he felt being open about the fact he didn't want to play anywhere else — in the past he had threatened to retire if traded away — might have undercut him in negotiations.

"I think I'm just taken for granted a little bit," he said. "Maybe I was too honest in saying I didn't want to leave and I wanted to stay here."

Domi had an offer from Pittsburgh to play for his friend Mario Lemieux and ride shotgun for Sidney Crosby. He said, however, that he just couldn't picture himself as anything but a Leaf.

"It would have been quite an experience to play with Mario and Sidney Crosby, but on the other hand it wasn't in blue and white and it was just something I couldn't do at the end of the day," he told Sportsnet.

The return of Domi stops the exodus of free agents out of Toronto. Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk both signed with Florida on Monday when they were unhappy with how negotiations were going with the Leafs. Defenceman Brian Leetch signed with Boston and centre Nik Antropov said he is considering lucrative offers from Russia.

With players leaving and Toronto, handcuffed by existing contracts, unable to compete for other free agents, management likely felt pressure to bring back a fan favourite.

The two-year contract provides Domi with a reasonable chance to set the NHL record for penalty minutes in a career. He is third with 3,406 minutes. That trails only former Leaf Dave (Tiger) Williams (3,966) and Dale Hunter (3,565).

The Domi signing means the Leafs have committed $29 million, including qualifying offers, to 17 players, leaving $10 million for six skaters. That drops to just over $9 million for five players if defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo, at $859,000, is a regular with the club this season.

While the Leafs have floundered when it comes to bringing in fresh blood — they are still considering adding centres Eric Lindros and Jason Allison on incentive-laden contracts — team executive Richard Peddie suggested yesterday that the lucrative commitments some NHL clubs are making on long-term deals might come back to haunt them.

"You figure it out. The cap is $39 million and if you take one of those salaries and put that as a percentage of 39, you've got a lot of your cap tied up in one or two players. Some of those contracts are very long and just look how old those players are when they finish," the president of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment said.

"The next free agent class is going to be three to five years younger because of the rules. This free agent class is older.

"(Free agency) has been alive for four days now; I don't think people know the true value of things. They don't know what the cap number will be next year. It's a plug number this year. So we think flexibility is a good thing at this time."

Peddie, of course, was defending his club's own inactivity as other teams announced a flurry of signings.

Peddie conceded he has been "surprised" by some of the money and contract terms doled out by his NHL brethren.

"I really think some of the teams are spending more than we imagined," he said. "(GM John Ferguson's) strategy is to go shorter (on contracts). He's putting values on players mindful of their age and their ability and mindful of what the free agency class looks like next year. I support John in those decisions."

Potential free agents next summer include Vincent Lecavalier, Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Marian Hossa, Eric Brewer and Jose Theodore. Until two days ago, Jarome Iginla would have been on that list, so there are no guarantees.

The Leafs are contractually committed to four players — Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Jeff O'Neill and Domi — beyond this season. They also hold a team option on the final year of Ed Belfour's deal.

Even more frustrating for the Leafs in the new economic landscape, noted Peddie, is that his team is subsidizing some big offers made by other teams through the league's new revenue sharing plan.

He said he anticipates Toronto will kick a league-high $9 million into the program, money that allows some of the NHL's weak sisters to outbid the Leafs on talent.

Peddie said that is helping to drive up market prices. General managers, he said, are realizing they can compete in the new NHL and there are good players available, so they're saying, "I'm getting a lot more money from the Toronto Maple Leafs, etcetera, so I have more money (to spend)."

Peddie refuted the suggestion that looking ahead to next year's crop of free agents means Leaf fans are in for a lame-duck season. He said time will determine whether Toronto's cautious approach and shift to a "build-versus-buy strategy" will pay off.

Again, declining to name names, he noted that the Leafs were vilified in previous summers for getting outbid on free agents that ultimately were bought out by the clubs that signed them. He's referring to the likes of Bobby Holik, Tony Amonte and Derian Hatcher.

"When all those fellows were signing for five years at $9 million (a season) everyone was saying, `Where are the Leafs?' Now when they're all getting bought out, everyone is saying, `Weren't those general managers crazy?'" said Peddie.

So can this year's version of the Leafs compete for a Stanley Cup?

"I don't think we know yet. Let's see what teams look like in October," he said. "... I don't know how people can handicap this season yet."