There appears to be a dispute brewing between the Maple Leafs and right winger Tie Domi over his injury status and whether he should continue to be paid during the lockout.

Domi has fully recovered from the hip surgery he had last May, but GM John Ferguson said yesterday that Domi has raised concerns about his right hand, which has been bothering him for some time. Domi did not take his glove off to shake hands after the Leafs lost to the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs and he has reportedly been in pain since.

It's believed that Domi is considering having surgery on the hand. It's also believed that the Leaf doctors have cleared him to play and that he is currently seeking another opinion.

Should Domi's doctor deem him not fit to play, the two parties would have to seek a third, independent doctor who would make the final determination on the extent of Domi's injury. Neither Domi nor his agent, Pat Morris, would comment on his injury status.

Labour laws in Canada and the United States stipulate that employers cannot lock out workers who suffer job-related injuries. About 30 NHL players continue to receive their full salaries because of injuries. Domi makes $1.9 million (all figures U.S.).

Meanwhile, the Leafs got some good news earlier this week when Owen Nolan was cleared to play after undergoing knee surgery in the summer. That means the Leafs no longer have to pay any of his $6.5 million salary for this season. He did, however, collect $237,805 prior to being cleared to play.

The Leafs will also have to pick up another season on Nolan's contract at a salary of $6.5 million if the lockout restricts this season to 40 or fewer games. Nolan has one more year remaining on his contract at $7.4 million after this season.

The Leafs also saw some encouraging developments on the Ed Belfour front. Belfour, who had back surgery Aug. 26, was supposed to be out of commission for six-to-eight weeks, a period that expired Thursday. But Ferguson said Belfour is very close to being 100 per cent healthy as well.

"He has been cleared for full, unrestricted rehab," Ferguson said. "He has not formally been cleared to play, but he's close."

Alexander Mogilny remains the lone player on the long-term injured list and could be there for the better part of this season after having his second hip surgery in September.

All of which means that the team that is arguably being hurt more than any other by the lockout and needs a new economic system less than any other is having to pay out more to injured players than any other team. The Leafs would have played their fifth game of the season tonight, meaning the injured players have already received 5/82nds of their salaries.

So despite the fact that no revenues are coming in, the Maple Leafs have already paid out about $1.05 million in salaries with a lot more to come.