Leafs’ Max Domi expected to miss training camp, start of season
The Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t expecting to have Max Domi back for the early part of the season.
After it was announced in late May that the forward was out indefinitely due to complications from an offseason surgery, it should come as no surprise that he is now expected to miss training camp and the start of the season, according to Leafs Morning Take host Nick Alberga.
Alberga also reported that there’s “still lots of uncertainty” surrounding Domi’s injury and the recovery process, so it sounds like the recovery from the injury could take a while.
Another omen that indicates Domi’s return isn’t expected for a while is the Leafs’ current salary cap situation. After a significant overhaul to the depth of their lineup, they are currently $2,752,382 over the salary cap according to PuckPedia. However, Domi’s injury allows him to be placed on long-term injured reserve once the season starts and relieve the Leafs of his $3.75 million cap hit until his return, which will then leave Toronto with $997,618 in salary cap space. The Leafs probably wouldn’t put themselves over the salary cap by that much if they expected a quick return from Domi, so this allows them to kick the can down the road until later in the season, where ideally they’ll either have another injury relieving them of cap space or have accrued enough cap space to fit him into the lineup.
Domi is coming off another down year with the Leafs, where he had 12 goals and 24 assists for 36 points in 80 games. It was his second season in a row where he failed to hit the 40-point mark, only the fourth time in his 11-season career where he did not do so.
Domi is entering the third year of a four-year contract with the $3.75 million cap hit this upcoming season.
The Leafs are coming off an active summer, as new general manager John Chayka looked to make his mark on the team in hopes of improvement after a disappointing 2025-26 campaign. In addition to winning the draft lottery and selecting Gavin McKenna, Toronto also acquired Darren Raddysh, Nick Paul and Emil Andrae and signed Sergei Bobrovsky, Jack Roslovic, Teddy Blueger, Colton Sissons and Brandon Duhaime in free agency.
