Max Domi's Absence Concerns Maple Leafs As He Misses Second Straight Practice
It's a worrying sign when a player misses practice, but with Max Domi missing two straight, there's a concern that there is a potential injury being hidden.
The Maple Leafs are coming off a very unlikely 4-3 OT comeback victory against the Washington Capitals thanks to the heroics of Joseph Woll and John Tavares, with Woll being a stonewall against Alex Ovechkin, leading to a breakaway beauty from the former Leafs captain:
They did this all without some key players too. Auston Matthews is still out injured with his upper-body issues, and Max Pacioretty is out weeks with a leg injury, not to mention Calle Jarnkrok's potential career-ending hernia and Jani Hakanpaa just got back on this ice this week.
So it's concerning then that Max Domi has missed not one, but two practices. Per David Alter of The Hockey News on X, Domi is not taking part in practice again due to another 'maintenance day'.
It's the second time Domi is out due to maintenance and it's worrying that he could potentially be hiding something from the team and its fans as he tries to do it on his own. This could be an explanation for the complete drop-off that he's had since the beginning of the year.
Since coming out of the gate strong with 6 points and looking like a staple in between Bobby McMann and William Nylander, his production fell off a cliff and he has been pointless since. He's not good defensively enough to warrant his lack of production and if an injury is causing an issue, he should get some extra help with it.
The Reason Behind Max Domi's Absence
Or it could be a case of Craig Berube being a really rough coach. Rough in the sense of working his players to the bone and maximizing effort regardless of situation. This is a successful brand of hockey that's given Berube success but it comes at the cost of potentially injuring your players; if you ask them to go hard they'll pay for it.
William Nylander is taking no chances either, sporting some extra padding in case things get hairy:
However, this neck guard addition might also have something to do with the potential of a skate slipping up and doing some serious damage. Ryan Reaves and Pontus Holmberg nearly had a scary incident when Reaves' skate caught Holmberg, but luckily it was in his chest:
According to head coach Craig Berube, Domi is alright and it's just a case of having another day to rest, but one needs to think why Domi needs so many days to maintain himself meanwhile the other players don't.
If Max Domi is hurt more than he's leading on, it's a detriment to both his health and the team's success. There's no point in trotting out an injured Domi to not perform, and they should probably do the same thing they're doing with their captain and keep him out until he's ready. They'll be perfectly fine without him.
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