He has put up decent numbers in the past...He's a gazillion times better than Downey, without a doubt. Thing is that we have too many 4th line players already.
I fail to see how he is a gazillion times better than Downey. You mention his ability to put points on the board, well it was a true statement when Domi was in his prime but if we take a look at last season, it's 15 vs 7 for Domi with Domi having played 3 times more ice time. Domi is more skilled than Downey no doubt but he is on the decline and so is his 'scoring ability', and nobody pays Domi to score.
As far as fighting is concerned, Domi faced ONE legitimate top heavyweight which was Brian McGrattan and he got bloodied pretty bad by him. He had a hard time holding his own against a marginal middleweight, Dan Lacouture. He shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as Langdon fighting wise as the later was able to hold on his own against the top heavyweights in the NHL.
Wade Belak is the top heavyweight on the Leafs and the player who was taking care of buisness as the tough guy on the team, who was protecting his teammates against the biggest and toughest thugs in the NHL. Tie Domi cannot do that job effectively anymore and it is questionable if he even has willingness to do it again.
Meanwhile, Downey is as tough as today's Domi and is willing to fight anybody as he already stated and has proven he would do it, and the Norton incident doesn't change that fact IMO. Downey is also defensively aware, gritty and will be playing on a two-way contract for the minimum wage. Downey's age is not a factor while Domi can only get worst. Downey is the consummate team player while I'm not sure Domi would accept a 13th-14th forward role which should be the spot for an enforcer in today's NHL and I'm not so sure he would accept being benched as well as Downey who understands his role and played it pretty damn well for the Habs last season.
Why would we pay for a declining tough guy who cannot defend his teammates effectively who can only get worst, be more expensive and maybe be a potential headcase?
I fail to see how he is a gazillion times better than Downey. You mention his ability to put points on the board, well it was a true statement when Domi was in his prime but if we take a look at last season, it's 15 vs 7 for Domi with Domi having played 3 times more ice time. Domi is more skilled than Downey no doubt but he is on the decline and so is his 'scoring ability', and nobody pays Domi to score.
As far as fighting is concerned, Domi faced ONE legitimate top heavyweight which was Brian McGrattan and he got bloodied pretty bad by him. He had a hard time holding his own against a marginal middleweight, Dan Lacouture. He shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as Langdon fighting wise as the later was able to hold on his own against the top heavyweights in the NHL.
Wade Belak is the top heavyweight on the Leafs and the player who was taking care of buisness as the tough guy on the team, who was protecting his teammates against the biggest and toughest thugs in the NHL. Tie Domi cannot do that job effectively anymore and it is questionable if he even has willingness to do it again.
Meanwhile, Downey is as tough as today's Domi and is willing to fight anybody as he already stated and has proven he would do it, and the Norton incident doesn't change that fact IMO. Downey is also defensively aware, gritty and will be playing on a two-way contract for the minimum wage. Downey's age is not a factor while Domi can only get worst. Downey is the consummate team player while I'm not sure Domi would accept a 13th-14th forward role which should be the spot for an enforcer in today's NHL and I'm not so sure he would accept being benched as well as Downey who understands his role and played it pretty damn well for the Habs last season.
Why would we pay for a declining tough guy who cannot defend his teammates effectively who can only get worst, be more expensive and be a potential headcase?
I disagree Domi would be a gazillion times better than Downey and I hope Gainey don't even think about offering him a contract.
They both suck but imo Domi is better. While Downey might not be afraid to fight anybody, he loses a fair share of his battles (well...so does Domi nowadays). It's not like either of them could really win us any momentum. But Domi is easily the bigger pest of the two and could cause a share of retaliation penalties from the other team. But anyway, we won't see Tie with the Habs, it's just a stupid rumor. If only Ivanans could skate, we wouldn't even have an enforcer problem.
I fail to see how he is a gazillion times better than Downey. You mention his ability to put points on the board, well it was a true statement when Domi was in his prime but if we take a look at last season, it's 15 vs 7 for Domi with Domi having played 3 times more ice time. Domi is more skilled than Downey no doubt but he is on the decline and so is his 'scoring ability', and nobody pays Domi to score.
As far as fighting is concerned, Domi faced ONE legitimate top heavyweight which was Brian McGrattan and he got bloodied pretty bad by him. He had a hard time holding his own against a marginal middleweight, Dan Lacouture. He shouldn't even be used in the same sentence as Langdon fighting wise as the later was able to hold on his own against the top heavyweights in the NHL.
Wade Belak is the top heavyweight on the Leafs and the player who was taking care of buisness as the tough guy on the team, who was protecting his teammates against the biggest and toughest thugs in the NHL. Tie Domi cannot do that job effectively anymore and it is questionable if he even has willingness to do it again.
Meanwhile, Downey is as tough as today's Domi and is willing to fight anybody as he already stated and has proven he would do it, and the Norton incident doesn't change that fact IMO. Downey is also defensively aware, gritty and will be playing on a two-way contract for the minimum wage. Downey's age is not a factor while Domi can only get worst. Downey is the consummate team player while I'm not sure Domi would accept a 13th-14th forward role which should be the spot for an enforcer in today's NHL and I'm not so sure he would accept being benched as well as Downey who understands his role and played it pretty damn well for the Habs last season.
Why would we pay for a declining tough guy who cannot defend his teammates effectively who can only get worst, be more expensive and maybe be a potential headcase?
I disagree Domi would be a gazillion times better than Downey and I hope Gainey don't even think about offering him a contract.
Well, I disagree with you on the ability to put up points. Chris Neil showed this year that it is possible to be an enforcer and have a decent set of hands. Being stuck in Toronto for the last year, I saw more leafs action than I cared for, and you people would be surprised at his offensive ability. His speed is underrated, and he will stand in the slot during the PP, something that no Hab outside of Ryder and Higgins are willing to do. His hands are pretty soft for a goon as well. He may have been dressed for more games than Downey, but for the last 20-30 games of the season he rode the pine pretty much the entire game, rarely getting more than a minute or 2 on the ice per game.
His contract for this year was 1.5 mil I believe and I'd see him taking under a mil to keep playing. IF he can restrict his retarded penalties AND he were willing to to sign for only a year or two, I'd take a chance on him. That's also under the condition that the Habs are not actually grooming their own enforcer. Ever since Todd Ewen it seems that we have a different one every year (on the downside of their career, no less - see Ciccone, Odjick, etc.), so that might also bode well in his favour. And for what it's worth, in terms of character, which is what the original poster quoted, I would take Domi ahead of any goon we've had since Nilan. I wouldn't lose any sleep if we lost Downey, and if it cost 300-400 k more, I'd see it as a solid upgrade.
Could you imagine him in our jersey for the 8 games/year we play the Leafs? I'd sign him for that alone!
I hate that bowling ball head. Leave him in Toronto where they used to like him. He seems to be a media punching bag these days. Oh how the mighty have fallen.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Pat Hickey reports Kirk Muller was recently seen dining with Canadiens GM Bob Gainey and head coach Guy Carbonneau, fuelling speculation he could become part of the coaching staff, which could be formally announced by the draft weekend. Hickey also noted Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi was recently seen dining with Habs blueliner Sheldon Souray. Domi is rumoured to be on the verge of having his contract bought out by the Leafs and Hickey claims Domi is a character player Gainey and Carbonneau covet.
Enjoy .
Maybe we would want to use him in order to create a Flase-High-stick-penalty, remember that domi is the only one who has the skill to cut himself after raming intentionally into an opponent stick. The sad thing is that's about all th skill that he has. Other than that, he's a complete moron & I can't wait to see the NHL get rid of him (afterward, the NHL should go after Avery!)
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