Max Domi is nothing without Auston Matthews

Max Domi has been seen as a defensive liability at several times in his NHL career. He should not be placed at center on a line that you are hoping can be a defensive shut down line, as that simply will not work. In addition to his poor defensive play, Max Domi bring very little depth scoring to the team. He has only scored 11 goals in his most recent 100 NHL games.

Max Domi would be best fitted as a set-up guy, playing with some players who are able to score goals. His job would be to get in the corners and make the physical play, and then pass the puck to someone who can score. That type of role suits Max Domi best.

Max Domi finished last season in the top one percent of forwards in primary assists. Imagine taking that stat and placing him alongside the NHL's best scorer in Auston Matthews who scored 69 goals last season. That could be a lethal duo.

Auston Matthews is the top player in the world right now at converting chances into goals and Max Domi is one of the top assist men in the league, so this combination just makes the most sense for the Maple Leafs.

The top line of Max Domi, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner would be one of the best lines in the entire league, if not the very best. Not only would that line score plenty of goals, but Max Domi would also bring a sense of grit and physicality to that group and would be out there protecting the top scorers kind of like how Marty McSorley used to be paired with Wayne Gretzky back in the day to provide a level of security and protection.

The third line of a team needs to be the shutdown line, and Max Domi does not belong there due to his defensive liability. Playing him on a line that will have no problem scoring goals is exactly where he needs to be if the Leafs want to max out their value on his contract.

Max Domi signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on July 13, 2022. He was later traded to the Dallas Stars on March 2, 2023, along with goalie prospect Dylan Wells, in exchange for Anton Khudobin and a 2025 second-round draft pick.

On July 3, 2023, Max Domi inked another one-year, $3 million deal, this time with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Opting to stay in Toronto, he secured a four-year, $15 million contract ($3.75 million AAV) on June 30, 2024, just before hitting unrestricted free agency.

Source: Editor In Leaf
Max Domi useless to Toronto Maple Leafs without Auston Matthews

Source: HockeyDB
Max Domi & Auston Matthews Stats