Realistic Free Agent: Max Domi, Toronto Maple Leafs
Max Domi has been a one-year rental lately with an AAV of $3 million over his previous two contracts, and that could be the same this season if he ends up in a new city. Currently, Domi is keeping all options open, including potentially playing at least another season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But if talks break down and he’s available on July 1st, he would help the Sabres in so many ways.
For one, he’s a top-six-caliber player, and while that wasn’t always the case this past season, if injuries struck the Sabres again, Domi could step up. He’s also figured out how to win faceoffs over the past two seasons, and even if he finished the year with just a 50.0 percent win percentage in the regular season, breaking even would benefit the Sabres more than anyone else has at the dot over the past two seasons.
No, Domi doesn’t convert many shots into goals, with a career shooting percentage of just 9.9. But he knows where the open man is who can then convert a shot into a goal, evidenced by his 74 assists over the past two seasons.
One downside is that Domi wouldn’t be a game-changing player, but again, we’re talking about one of the more realistic signings for the Sabres. Yet, as in Toronto, he made for a great supplement to the star players, and as implied in the previous section, let’s not assume just yet that the Sabres wouldn’t rebound from a down year offensively if they brought on a good complementary player in Domi.