Domi flourishing in the Montreal spotlight
Acquired from Arizona in June, Domi is among the leading scorers in the NHL
Marc Bergevin says it takes a certain type of player to excel in the spotlight. The general manager of the Montreal Canadiens appears to have found one in Max Domi.
“It’s easy to play in a non-hockey market,” Bergevin said. “It’s a little more difficult in a market like Montreal or Toronto or Vancouver — a Canadian market. You’re more exposed.
“Max thrives on that. It shows in his play.”
Acquired from the Arizona Coyotes for Alex Galchenyuk in June’s trade of young forwards badly in need of a fresh start, Domi, 23, entered Wednesday’s action tied for eighth in NHL scoring with 22 points in 18 games, while his 10 goals were good for a share of 11th.
Moved to centre after mostly playing as a winger in Arizona, Domi had three assists in his first four games with Montreal. He has since had 19 points in 14 outings since Jonathan Drouin joined his line.
Domi, the 12th pick in the 2013 draft, has five goals and six assists during a sevengame point streak, although his unusually high shooting percentage of 26.3 is bound to regress.
An 18-goal, 52-point player as a rookie, he scored nine times to go along with 29 assists in an injury-hit 2016-17 campaign before again putting up just nine goals — including four empty-netters — in a 45point season last year.
Bergevin pointed to life under the microscope in a hockey hotbed as one of the reasons for the resurgence of the skilled son of former Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi.
“He’s a Toronto kid who played great at the world juniors, big stage,” Bergevin said. “He’s doing the same for us.”
And it’s not like the trade hasn’t benefited the Coyotes.
Galchenyuk, the third pick in 2012, missed the majority of October because of injury, but has three goals and five assists in 10 games.
Drafted as a centre by the Canadiens, the 24-year-old spent most of his time in Montreal on the wing, but appears to have found a home down the middle in the desert.
“We traded a good player for Max,” Bergevin said following Tuesday’s meeting with fellow NHL GMs in Toronto. “Hopefully it works out for both teams.”
Bergevin added he’s constantly on the lookout for players like Domi — ones in need of a change of scenery — when talking trades.
“It’s always a nice thing to do, especially if the guy’s with his first team,” he said. “If a guy’s on his fourth, fifth, sixth team, it might not make a difference.”
Montreal, which wasn’t expected to do much this season, currently sits a surprising four points out of first in the Atlantic Division and is holding down the second wild-card berth in the East.
Bergevin, who also dealt Max Pacioretty to the Vegas Golden Knights in September for a package that included winger Tomas Tatar and prospect Nick Suzuki, said increasing team speed has been crucial to the Canadiens’ early success.
“You don’t go in the summer saying, ‘I want to get slower,’” Bergevin said with a chuckle. “Sometimes the players are not available. It’s not only players that are fast, but players that play fast.
“That’s how the league’s going now. We’re playing faster and we’re getting results.”
Who enters the hall in 2019?
With six new members inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this week, 2019 is shaping up to be another interesting class. But unlike this year, there won’t be a slamdunk inductee like Martin Brodeur. Vincent Lecavalier, Patrik Elias and Brad Richards will join a pool of potential Hall additions that includes Daniel Alfredsson, Curtis Joseph, Alexander Mogilny and Sergei Zubov.
Brodeur’s workload massive
Speaking of the Hall, Brodeur’s career workload might never be matched. The three-time Stanley Cup champion and four-time Vezina Trophy winner played 70 games in a season 12 times during his career, including a span of 10 straight from 1997-98 to 2007-08 with the New Jersey Devils. “It was great to go to bed the night before a game and know who your goalie was going to be, and what type of performance you were going to get,” said former Devils GM Lou Lamoriello.