Tie Domi
| Tie Domi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| File:Domiheadshot236.jpg | |||
| Born |
November 1, 1969 Windsor, ON, CAN | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 207 lb (94 kg; 14 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Played for |
Toronto Maple Leafs New York Rangers Winnipeg Jets | ||
| NHL draft |
27th overall, 1988 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1989–2006 | ||
Tahir Domi (born November 1 1969 in Windsor, Ontario) is a retired professional ice hockey player. During a sixteen-year NHL career when he was known for his role as an enforcer, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets.
Minor Hockey
Domi grew up in the Windsor suburb of Belle River, Ontario playing minor hockey for the local Belle River Rink Rats (OMHA). As a 15-year old, Domi played for the Belle River Canadians Jr.C. (GLJCHL). As a 16-year old, he played for the Windsor Bulldogs Jr.B. (WOHL) hockey club.
He was selected in the 7th round (102nd overall) in the 1986 OHL Priority Selection by the Peterborough Petes.
After one year as a part-time player with the Petes, and playing with the local Peterborough Road Runners Jr.B. (MJHL), Domi didn't become a regular member of the Petes line-up until he was 18-years old. His OHL linemate was future NHL'er, Mike Ricci.
Career
Selected 27th overall at the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Domi is known as an enforcer and a fighter who has more penalty minutes than any other player in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs and third overall in penalty minutes in NHL history.
He grew up in Belle River, Ontario. His Albanian heritage would later give him his nickname, "Tugger". He played with the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, soon gaining a reputation as an enforcer. He was drafted in 1988 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2nd round, 27th overall. Tie Domi visited a small northern town called Moosonee. He was called in the year 2005, to come and play for a hockey tournament called, Michael Trapper Memorial Gathering. So many fans were amazed by his appearance and performance on the ice. He left after the tournament, with lose.
He was traded to the New York Rangers in 1990. As a Ranger, he made his reputation, when he challenged Bob Probert for a famous fisticuff. He lost that brawl but he received a lot of new fans because of his courage, and his spectacular and outspoken appearance. [citation needed] In 1992, he was traded to the Winnipeg Jets where he earned some of his stripes as an NHL tough guy and was named a fan favourite in 1994. When traded back to the Leafs in 1995, he soon became a fan favorite for his crunching body checks and powerful fistfights; among his fans was Don Cherry.
The list of players he fought included Bob Probert, Marty McSorley, Rob Ray, Peter Worrell, and Georges Laraque, and just about everyone else in the league that would drop their gloves. Domi's fighting style has been dubbed "the spin cycle" by hockey commentators, due to the way he maintains forward momentum while grappling with another player, forcing the other player to counter with backward momentum, and inducing a counter-clockwise spinning motion for the duration of the fight. This tactic usually works in Domi's favour.
In the closing seconds of Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Tie rendered New Jersey Devils defenseman Scott Niedermayer unconscious with an elbow to the head. Domi received a five-minute intent to injure penalty, and was later suspended by the league for the remainder of the playoffs.
In the 1997-98 season, Tie set a Leafs single-season record with 365 penalty minutes, passing a mark set by Tiger Williams in the 1977-78 season. Tie has stated in the past that Tiger was one of his heroes.
In his early years, whenever he scored a goal, he usually turned his stick around and sat on it like a horse. He has done it rarely in recent years. After winning a fight he would sometimes twirl his fists as if hitting a speed bag or pretend to be wearing a championship belt.
In the 2000-01 season Tie is well remembered for the "Philadelphia incident". Domi, sitting in the penalty box, had sprayed a heckler with his water bottle, when an intoxicated Philadelphia Flyers fan begin yelling at him and banging on the glass. The glass panel gave way, and the fan fell into the box. The fan was not only pinned by Domi, but also took a few light punches from him. No formal charges were laid, but the fan was ejected from the building, and Domi was fined (but not suspended) by the NHL.
On March 3, 2006, Tie Domi played his 1,000th career NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres.
On March 10, 2006, Domi was a healthy scratch for the Maple Leafs game versus the New York Islanders. It was the first time since the 1999 playoffs that Tie has been made a healthy scratch by coach Pat Quinn. Domi stated publicly that he was not happy with being benched.[1]
On June 30, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs opted to buy out the final year of Domi's contract [2]. Domi became a free agent on July 1, 2006, and on September 19th, 2006 at 4PM, Tie Domi announced his retirement from the NHL and his new position in broadcasting on TSN. He added that he could not see himself "wearing another jersey other than the blue and white" of the Maple Leafs. [3]
Career statistics
| Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1986-87 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 18 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 79 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | ||
| 1987-88 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 60 | 22 | 21 | 43 | 292 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 24 | ||
| 1988-89 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 43 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 175 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 70 | ||
| 1989-90 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 57 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 285 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1989-90 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1990-91 | Binghamton Rangers | AHL | 25 | 11 | 6 | 17 | 219 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 1990-91 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 185 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1991-92 | New York Rangers | NHL | 42 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 246 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 32 | ||
| 1992-93 | New York Rangers | NHL | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 95 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1992-93 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 49 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 249 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 | ||
| 1993-94 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 81 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 347 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Winnipeg Jets | NHL | 31 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 128 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1994-95 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1995-96 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 297 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1996-97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 275 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1997-98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 365 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1998-99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 198 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 24 | ||
| 1999-00 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 198 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 2000-01 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 214 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 2001-02 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 157 | 19 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 61 | ||
| 2002-03 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 79 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 171 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 2003-04 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 208 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 41 | ||
| 2005-06 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 77 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 109 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL Totals | 1020 | 104 | 141 | 245 | 3515 | 98 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 238 | ||||