Ex-Leafs forward blasts Sheldon Keefe's treatment of Max Domi

The Toronto Maple Leafs brought in the son of beloved former forward Tie Domi this summer, inking Max Domi to a one year contract after he split last season with the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars.

But it's only taken two games for himself to be demoted to the third line by head coach Sheldon Keefe in a move that has drawn plenty of scrutiny.

“My focus with Max when meeting with him today was just on how he manages the puck offensively. If you don’t take care of the puck offensively, you have to defend that much more. That is really it,” Keefe told reporters at Sunday’s practice.

“We want to do a better job when we lose the puck, but in Max’s case, I think it’s about keeping himself and his group on offence more often. That is really it — recognizing that taking care of the puck leads to a lot of good things happening offensively, and you defend way less.”

His demotion isn't exactly sitting well with a particular former Maple Leafs forward in Kris Versteeg, who made an appearance on Sportsnet's 590 The Fan.

"You need to get guys extended, trusted minutes to get them in the game," he said. "If you expect Max Domi to score with 11 minutes [on the ice]... it's not going to happen."

In 581 career NHL games, Domi has lit the lamp 121 times with 249 assists. Will he get a real chance to rack up additional stats with the Leafs this year, or will his minutes continue to get diminished?

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