Encyclopedia
Tahir Domi 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.
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.
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. 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 were Don Cherry.
The list of players he fought included Bob Probert, Marty McSorley, 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 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.
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 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.
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 is a 1999 [i] movie [i] directed [i] by Jay Roach [i]. ...
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.
Though he writes left-handed, he uses a right-handed hockey stick and he tends to rely heavily on his right hand during hockey fights.
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 the station fired Romani, who apologised to the Domis, and said his remarks were an ill-advised attempt at humour.
Tie and Leanne have three children; daughters Carlin and Avery, and son Max. On September 26, 2006, a temporary settlement in their now-messy divorce was struck. Leanne made public that Tie is dating
Belinda Stronach after she claimed in court papers that he refused to settle matters quietly. Domi has refused comment. . It is also alleged that he had an affair with actress
Tia Carrere.
Domi's brother, Dash Domi, was in the
Canadian news in 2004-2005, as the lead salesman for MFP Financial Services in the government contracts which led to the Toronto Computer Leasing Inquiry. Tie Domi testified at the inquiry on his brother's behalf.
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 |
|---|
External links
