Tie Domi, one of the roughest and certainly the most penalized hombre to ever pull on a Maple Leafs uniform, is on the verge of becoming a role model for safe hockey.

By attaching a visor to his helmet for practices, though not for games as yet, the Toronto enforcer has perhaps broken down a barrier by wearing one. If a pugilist like Domi can eschew the macho, Don Cherryesque code that suggests real men don't hide behind the additional protection of a visor, perhaps others won't feel as sheepish or intimidated about wearing one.

"If Tie wears one, everyone will think, `You know what, this guy is one of the toughest guys in the league and he's wearing one, so you can't be a (wussy) if you wear one,'" said fellow tough guy Wade Belak, after Domi debuted his new look yesterday. "I think it falls into the category where, if you're a tough guy, you're not supposed to wear one.

Leafs' Tie Domi says he wore a protective visor while playing junior hockey, where he developed his reputation as a heavyweight and led the league in penalty minutes.

"I think seeing Tie with one, if it happens, will (make people rethink that). I'm a young guy. I don't want to lose an eye because I want to keep my image."

Belak, out with a knee injury, plans on experimenting with a visor when he is ready to play in about four weeks. Tom Fitzgerald skated with one yesterday, as will Darcy Tucker, the latest Leaf to suffer a frightening eye injury, when he is given the go-ahead to resume practising.

While none of those players has committed to wearing a shield in games, if Domi does put one on it has the potential to send the strong message that wearing a visor doesn't mean you have to become pleasant under glass.

"I wore it in junior and I led the league in penalty minutes back then, too," Domi said. "(But) it's been a long time. It's definitely a big adjustment. Change is always tough."

Domi will not wear a visor in tonight's game against the Canadiens but will continue to tinker with one at practice. If he gets comfortable enough to put one on permanently, he said he's not doing it to be a poster boy for NHL reform.

"If I do wear a visor in games eventually, it has nothing to do with anybody else. It's just an individual preference," he said. "I have the rest of my life to live. I have three young children. I'd like to see my grandchildren."

The underlying motivation for any player is, obviously, fear and safety. Within three weeks, the Leafs had two players, Owen Nolan and Tucker, undergo laser surgery to repair torn retinas, injuries that resulted from careless stickwork on the ice.

Fitzgerald talked to equipment suppliers after Nolan was hurt Jan.3 and considered trying a visor then but didn't act on it. He called Tucker's injury last Tuesday "the straw that broke the camel's back."

"I've had shields on before because of injuries," he said.

"You get hurt and put one on and then you get healthy and take it off.

"It's actually kind of dumb when you think about it."

Fitzgerald, unlikely to play tonight at Montreal because of a bruised ankle, isn't sure if he'll wear a visor when he does play because of how it changes his vision.

"It's not a macho thing whatsoever," he said. "It's just a matter of being able to see better on the ice."

Domi said he's been under pressure from his wife and children to give the visor a try and it really hit home when his oldest daughter and son came home from school Wednesday frightened because classmates had told them Tucker had lost his eye.

Belak, too, said he's been feeling the heat from his parents and wife.

"When I first came into the NHL my parents were begging me to wear one but you're not supposed to. It's not the cool thing to do," he said.

"And now my wife keeps saying, `Forget the macho thing and protect your eyes.'

"It's starting make sense right now."