Tie Domi

Tie Domi
Born	(1969-11-01) November 1, 1969 Windsor, Ont., CAN
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 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
Website	tiedomi.com

Tahir "Tie" Domi (born November 1, 1969) is a retired Canadian 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.

Playing career

Minor hockey

Domi grew up in the town of Belle River, Ontario playing minor hockey for the local Belle River Rink Rats (OMHA). His parents are from the town of Bitola, in modern-day Republic of Macedonia, and are of Albanian ethnicity. As a 15-year old, Domi played for the Belle River Canadiens Jr. "C." (GLJCHL). As a 16-year old, he played for the Windsor Bulldogs Jr. "B." (WOJBHL) hockey club.

He was selected in the seventh round (102nd overall) in the 1986 OHL Priority Selection by the Peterborough Petes. Domi spent one year as a part-time player with the Petes, and playing with the local Peterborough Roadrunners Jr.B. (MetJHL), he didn't become a regular member of the Petes line-up until he was 18. Domi quickly made his mark in the OHL, gaining a reputation as an enforcer.

Professional

He was drafted in 1988 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, 27th overall. In 1989, he turned professional with the Newmarket Saints, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Leafs. After two games with the Leafs, he was traded to the New York Rangers in 1990. In 1992 he was traded again to the Winnipeg Jets. He assisted on the goal that gave Teemu Selänne the rookie season scoring record.

Return to Toronto

In 1995, Domi was traded back to the Toronto Maple Leafs and was immediately adored by fans for his ruthless playing style and often hilarious antics both on and off the ice. Domi would be one of the most consistent and popular members of the Leafs until his retirement in 2006. He has more penalty minutes than any other player in the history of the Maple Leafs (see Maple Leafs records) and third overall in penalty minutes in NHL history. In the 1997–98 season, Domi set a Leafs single-season record with 365 penalty minutes, passing a mark set by the legendary Tiger Williams in the 1977–78 season. He had his best season in the 2003-2004 NHL season, where he set career highs of 15 goals and 29 points.

In what turned out to be his final season of 2005–06, Domi scored his 100th NHL goal. Also, Domi played his 1,000th career NHL game, on March 3, 2006 against the Buffalo Sabres. Seven days later, 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 had been made a healthy scratch by coach Pat Quinn. Domi stated publicly that he was not happy with being benched, a fact that was underlined by his staying in his hotel room, not arriving at the game until after the second period. This is widely regarded as a contributing factor in the decision to buy out his contract.

On June 30, 2006, the Toronto Maple Leafs opted to buy out the final year of Domi's contract. Domi became a free agent on July 1, 2006, and on September 19, 2006, Tie Domi announced his retirement from the NHL and a 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.

Notable Incidents

Domi was involved in several incidents where he has been suspended or fined by the NHL:

• In October 1995, Domi was suspended for eight games and fined for a sucker punch that knocked out Ulf Samuelsson of the New York Rangers because Ulf called him "Tie Dummy".

• In the 2000–01 season Domi was involved in an incident with a fan. Domi, sitting in the penalty box, sprayed water at the glass in front of a heckler with his water bottle, prompting another Philadelphia Flyers fan (Chris Trumbore) to begin yelling at him and climbing up the glass. The glass panel gave way, and the fan fell into the penalty box sequestering Domi. Domi wasn't suspended for that incident, but he was fined $1,000 (max at the time) for the pseudo-act. Flyers management got an earful and, reportedly, a fine, for not having better crowd control and security in place.

• On May 3, 2001, in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semi-finals, well away from the play, Domi threw an elbow at the head of New Jersey Devils defenceman Scott Niedermayer and knocked him unconscious. Domi received a five-minute intent to injure penalty, and was later suspended by the league for the remainder of the playoffs.

Off the ice

Domi has tried his hand at acting, appearing in the 1999 independent film Men of Means. He also appeared briefly in the hockey-themed comedy Mystery, Alaska as himself. He has also been involved in a number of other pro and semi-pro sports; he played a full season for Kosovo of the Canadian International Soccer League during the summer of 1995, and appeared in two pre-season exhibition games as a placekicker for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.

In 2004, Tie and his wife Leanne filed suit against the "Team 1200" AM radio station in Ottawa after a commentator, Don "Dandyman" Romani, insinuated on the air that Domi beat his wife. The lawsuit was dropped after Romani left the station, who apologized to the Domis, and said his remarks were an ill-advised attempt at humour.

Tie and Leanne have three children: daughters Carlin and Avery Rose, and son Max. On September 26, 2006, a temporary settlement in their divorce was struck.

In October 2009, Domi began competing as a pairs figure skater on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, reality show Battle of the Blades with Christine Hough.

In March 2010, Domi was an assistant coach with the Don Mills Flyers Bantams and helped lead the team to the All-Ontario AAA Championship in Ottawa.

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

See also

• List of NHL players with 1000 games played
• List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes

External links

• Official website
• Tie Domi career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Tie Domi - Hockeygoon.com
• hockeyfights.com - Tie Domi
• ESPN The Magazine profile on Domi
• Tie Domi at IMDb