Domi, McCabe and Decisions, Decisions

The Maple Leafs may not be in the 2006 Stanley Cup final, but that doesn't mean they're not the focus of a surprising degree of intrigue.

Before Game 3 on Saturday, for example, there was widespread speculation that GM John Ferguson had officially bought out veteran winger Tie Domi from the final year of his contract. Domi may not be a big scorer or an all-star, but he is not only the most popular Leaf but a player watched closely around the NHL, so the buyout had surprising traction before the Oilers and Hurricanes hit the ice.

Only problem was, the story wasn't true. Couldn't be true in fact.

The buyout season, you see, has not yet begun. Teams can offer two-thirds buyouts commencing either June 15th or 48 hours after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup final.

Given that Thursday is the 15th but, going into Game 4, the series could not end before Wednesday, that meant a buyout of Domi or any NHLer would not be possible until Friday at the earliest.

Then again, the NHL is certainly playing with the rules a lot these days, whether its extending the period teams have to sign their own free agents or when this summer's actual free agent season will begin.

Domi is scheduled to earn $1.25 million this season.

There is also speculation, meanwhile, that the 36-year-old enforcer may choose to retire, thus leaving the game and the team of his own volition and keeping his post-hockey profile unsullied.

Domi remains, as mentioned, hugely popular, and that could translate into significant retirement business possiblities if he can leave the sport in a positive way rather than being cut loose and waived through the league. Even worse would be the possibility that, like last season with Brian McGrattan, Domi would have to go through the meat grinder of facing the league's various young tough guys next season.

That, of course, is the lesson of enforcers over the years. No matter how tough and dominating an NHL heavyweight is, somebody bigger and meaner and younger always comes along.

While the Domi watch continues, there reamins intense confusion over the inability of the club to announce a new contract for defenceman Bryan McCabe.

This one has been sitting out there for more than a week, with stories furiously circulating that McCabe's wife is disinclined to stay in Toronto.

Right now, it's hard to see how this one turns out positively for the Leafs.

There was already much debate over whether McCabe was even worth the five-year deal worth an average of $5.5 million per season that was apparently being offered by the Leafs.

Now, with it appearing as though giving the defenceman big money, substantial term and a no movement clause wasn't good enough, McCabe and/or the Leafs are creating the uncomfortable public percepton that the player is very reluctant to return.

As usual, the Leafs and Ferguson have been awkward in their public handling of the situation, offering no explanation to anybody, on or off the record, as to what the problem might be.

Comments

[Carla]

We owe our thanks to Roberta McCabe, then, if she really is balking at being bound to Toronto for so long. Fergie was willing to pay far too much to her husband for far too long, IMO. And, yes, it’s time for Domi to retire. Thanks for the memories, Tie.

[A-Mar]

Yeah, hopefully they will either sign McCabe for less time therefore making it less of a mistake or get someone like Kubina or Jovanovski... notice I didn't say Redden or Chara because everyone realizes that Redden will resign with Ottawa and Chara will get above 7m per season somewhere...

[Paul]

No McCabe @ 5.5 million and more for the next 5 years? Geez thats tough. See ya Brian, thanks for coming out and don't let the door hit you in the arse as you're leaving.

[Roberto]

Domi has no place in the new NHL. Far better to get a younger, faster and more offensively talented guy some ice time.
McCabe is another story. He carried the team offensively in the first half, and is worth the money for his offense, even though his defense is mediocre at best.
It doesn't really matter, this team with JFJ at the helm is not going anywhere but down.

[Sanj]

I blame the media for this. I didn't even know about Domi until yes, the media brought it up. And the McCabe stuff wouldn't be an issue if the media didn't start blabing that McCabe had signed a contract.

Who really cares? Leafs are out. Talk about the Finals. OK?

[VScM]

Is the state of the NHL is such a dire position that on the eve of game 4 of the Stanley Cup final the most important thing Mr. Cox can find to right about is Tie Domi??

No wonder the league doesn't have a national broadcast contract on a major network in the U.S.

[Richard]

Kudos to Furguson for signing Tellqvist on the cheap, a goalie who has far more potential than he has yet shown as the backer to Belfour. Platooning him and Aubin for a year while two very highly regarded goalies develop is an excellent move. If the leafs are in a position to make a run for the cup at the trade deadline, then Ferguson would have the cap room to go after a goalie. That's if he doesn't sign McCabe. It's ridiculous that they didn't trade McCabe for picks or a prospect before his contract expires. As a defensive liability, and an offensive one trick pony (and that trick is know to every penalty killing unit), he is not worth half his contract if it means you can't move him. The leafs should make a serious play for Gaborik, like they did when they mangaed to steal Sundin from Quebec so many years ago.

[Sean]

McCabe's reported deal was at the upper end of his value. The "no movement" clause tipped the deal into the absolute no-brainer category for him. If he actually has to turn down the deal now because his wife won't let him play in Toronto, then I guess I hope he enjoys like in Long Island.

At least this announced but never consumated contract drove up the asking price for Redden and Chara... or was that the plan all along?

[R.ST.Germain]

It's certainly time for Domi to retire.He hasn't done very much for the Leafs last season.He has lost his toughness and can't score many points anymore.The Leafs should buy him out.Ondrus would be a good replacement for Domi.Ondrus did not score any points last year but give him more ice time and he will get better.As for McCabe,he's not worth 5.5 million a year.

[len holland]

Everything you said has benn pure speculation.Why dont you just report the FACTs a la Joe Friday.

[Dave Caulfield]

McCabe, like many other very good defencemen in the league, is prone to the occasional lapse. Unfortunately, when the only other reliable defenceman on the team is his own partner, it's created situations where McCabe has to play almost constantly. Paying him $5.5 million is, I think, about right in today's NHL. He eats a ton of minutes. He's great on the power-play. According to the fishwrap writers, he's a good guy in the dressing room. He's not afraid to play physical or block shots. I think that translates into $5.5 million.

As for Tie, I can't believe the number of people who are willing to write this guy off. Given what they'd have to pay to buy him out and then replace him with a guy making the league minimum ($750,000 per year for two years for the buyout, plus $450,000), you're not going to get better value for the buck. If he wants to play, I think he's earned the right to and I think Maurice (and particularly Mats) would welcome him back. It's odd that a guy who's apparently so popular is just torn apart by everyone posting. Tie is one of those rare guys that deserves a proper send-off. He's bled blue and white for a long, long time and I have a lot of respect for him.

It's funny because I remember JFJ, when he was hired, was heralded as some kind of genius w/r/t the CBA and all he's done is drop the ball on that issue time and time again. He messed up huge with Belfour. He signed Lindros and Allison to incentive-laden contracts that he thought wouldn't count against the cap but ended up doing the exact opposite. He failed to re-sign Roberts by assuming he'd be back and it seems as though his presence was sorely missed in the dressing room and on Sundin's wing. He was as ill-prepared for the new NHL as anyone could have been. The only things that saved him were Maurice with the Marlies and Mats' stretch run.

Time and time again, I puzzle at Mr. Cox's comments. If he's not advocating trading Tucker at the deadline, he's suggesting that Tomas Kaberle's recent contract is an example of overpaying "a nice player" and that "the Leafs haven't won anything with him on their blueline though you could say that about a dozen blueliners."

I'd suggest the Leafs ought to get the McCabe deal done as smoothly as possible and then look at getting one or two tough, defensive defencemen that they can throw out against opposing teams' top lines. Jay McKee or Aaron Ward are two UFAs who come to mind, but there are a host of others. Signing McCabe and Kaberle to two long-term deals is a good idea when you aren't forcing them to play two full minutes of every powerplay as well as every penalty kill. Heck the two were both in the top-five in minutes in the league for defencemen.

Anyhow, I don't know what McCabe needs to do to win fans over. Had he not been injured he would have certainly broke the team record for points by a defenceman. He takes chances and occasionally gets burned, but it happens to just about every defencemen in the league, even the ones who'll be making $7 million next season...