Max Domi Is the Maple Leafs’ Unluckiest Player

Toronto Maple Leafs fans can be a tough crowd, and if you’ve spent time scrolling through posts (including the comment sections), you might think Max Domi is the latest lightning rod. “Trade him,” they say. “He isn’t earning his pay.”

But peel back the surface and the story isn’t quite so simple. Go back to a past season, when Mitch Marner was injured. Domi and Auston Matthews were paired together, and it clicked. Matthews scored. Domi assisted. Simple, effective hockey. It worked because Domi knows his role, understands how to feed the big dog, and plays for the team.

Fast-forward to this season, and it seems the narrative has shifted faster than his puck on a turnover. Yet the numbers tell a different story.

Looking at the Analytics, You See Domi in a New Light

Look at the analytics, and you start to see Domi in a new light. On the surface, the raw goal totals suggest a player struggling: minus-11 on actual goals. That looks grim. But the expected goals chart tells a much kinder story: -0.85. While Domi’s goal total looks disappointing, the expected goals number (-0.85) shows he’s creating quality chances and playing better than the score sheet suggests.

That’s not just a little unlucky; that’s a kind of seasonal misfortune that makes you double-check your luck on game day. In other words, Domi is doing the work. He’s generating more dangerous chances than he’s giving up, controlling play, and feeding teammates. But somehow, the puck isn’t bouncing his way. He’s not failing; he’s the one carrying some of the Maple Leafs’ unfulfilled potential on his shoulders. The dam may be about to break—and when it does, everyone who wrote him off will have to reassess.

Domi Has Generated Only a Few Headlines This Season

Consider the small headlines that have snuck past the larger noise. On Oct. 29, Domi scored two goals in a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. That snapped a seven-game point drought. One came on a clean 2-on-1 feed from the left hash marks; the other was a late-game winner.

Now, 22 games into the season, he’s sitting with three goals and three assists for only six points. That’s far from enough contribution. Still, and here’s the kicker: Domi’s effort, the vision, the shot creation—it’s all there. He’s been inconsistent, but he’s also shown repeatedly he knows how to play the Maple Leafs way, the team-first way.

Sometimes the puck doesn’t care about effort or style. And that is where Max Domi sits today: unlucky, underappreciated, and quietly one of the team’s most promising pieces. One can only hope his luck reverses - and soon!