Over the last couple of weeks, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been bit pretty hard by the injury bug. With Auston Matthews nursing an upper-body injury that head coach Craig Berube doesn't necessarily have a timeline for recovery on, Leafs Nation was also concerned with Max Domi after missing back-to-back practices this week.
Fortunately, on Friday, Berube had an update on Domi's health status, confirming that the veteran forward will play on Saturday.
While it seems like it's been a down year for Domi, and there is a strong possibility that whatever is ailing him is the cause of this, having him in the lineup not only helps but is imperative to overall team success.
It can be argued that as years have gone on, Domi became less productive, but Domi is still an excellent playmaker, and having a player in the lineup who can provide a bit of grit along with enough skill to play up and down the lineup is very important.
One has to believe that it's also entirely possible that Domi could be struggling to figure out how he can best fit into Berube's plans. New coach, new system, new challenges. Domi may still very well be adjusting through the first 18 games.
As a veteran of just over 650 games, the idea that Domi will likely figure it all out should help calm the nerves of fans who are concerned about his 4-year term, if there are any. Still, even with a 4-year term, Domi's $3.75M cap hit is reasonable for what he brings to the table and shouldn't be too difficult to move if it came down to it.
POLL | ||
15 NOVEMBRE | 3236 ANSWERS Maple Leafs Confirm Max Domi's Health Status After Second Consecutive Missed Practice Are the Toronto Maple Leafs better or worse with Max Domi in the lineup? | ||
Better | 2231 | 68.9 % |
Worse | 1005 | 31.1 % |
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