No Need for Domi?

They don't need a veteran with ties to the ownership whose presence could fragment the dressing room. And they don't need a seven-minute-a-night leader.

I have no qualms with Ulmer's assessment of Domi's potential contributions, unless his mysterious shoulder injury really was hampering his production. But since that is an unknown factor, we'll have to judge what Domi might give us next year based on this past season, and that wasn't much of anything.

With a gaping hole in net and wafer thin depth at forward, the last thing Leafs general manager John Ferguson Jr. should be occupying himself with is replacing Tie Domi

I'm not sure the hole is gaping, as I'm not in favor of making a big splash for a goalie, but I'm coming around to the idea of a $2m per type of guy. With the news of the salary cap increasing by approximately 13%, there is more leeway for JFJ to play with. But back to the man of the (witching) hour.

But Tie Domi was a fourth-liner who openly spoke about himself as one of the Leafs leaders, a 20-point a season guy who falsely saw himself as a difference maker. His biggest impact on a series came in 2001, when he elbowed the New Jersey Devils' Scott Niedermayer and changed the course of a playoff the Leafs were on the edge of winning.

Frankly, I'm shocked and honestly pleased at how this article is so matter-of-fact. Kudos.

Regardless of the arithmetic of buying out and replacing Domi, which by the way is negligible one way or the other, the real issue is building a winning team. And the answer to that riddle doesn't include Domi. Atleast, not anymore.

UPDATE - On the draft front, Sportnet has a Top-60 Prospect list that should come in handy. And from the random idea department, I wonder if Don Cherry would ever publish his preferred 'home town' picks before the draft, given how he is always harping how Ontario boys are overlooked by the Leafs. Come on, Don, give us a list of even just three names. Or better yet, give your list to JFJ privately and help the guy out.

UPDATE 2 - Spector has a gem of a quote from JFJ. Get this, Fergie says "that Domi's play wasn't 'positively affected by the changes in the NHL's rules' and that they're looking at his situation. He said that Tie was signed for two years and that he's been a solid contributor to the team both on and off the ice. He said he was aware of the reports saying that the team was looking at buying him out, but added "don't believe everything you read."

Congrats to Spector for taking the plunge into full time freelance hockey journalism. Be sure to visit his site and click an ad or two. I still can't believe he maintained such a high level of excellence when it was only a part-time gig for him. Them military boys are amazing sometimes.