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Max Domi

Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi’s NHL career is on pause after details of the complications following his recent surgery were revealed.

Last week, the Maple Leafs announced that Domi was out indefinitely following offseason surgery that he received to repair an injury that plagued him during this past NHL season. The team said in the press release that there were complications following the surgery, and that Domi would be out indefinitely, with team doctors set to reevaluate him at the start of training camp in September.

Now, we have a better idea of what Domi is dealing with — and it doesn’t sound good at all.

Details of Max Domi’s Complications Following Surgery Revealed

In Sunday’s edition of the Toronto Sun, Maple Leafs reporter Steve Simmons revealed the complications that Domi is dealing with following his recent surgery, which Simmons’ sources said was for his back. According to Simmons, the player had complications following the surgery, including the inability to walk, and his return to the team is “in doubt” for next season.

“According to sources, Domi chose his own surgeon to do the operation rather than the one the Maple Leafs had in mind. That’s not uncommon with today’s modern athlete, and that doesn’t affect his insurance status as a Leafs player. What is uncommon: Something went terribly wrong with the surgery. For public consumption, no one is saying what. Almost every operation on a professional athlete is followed by a press release that indicates that successful surgery has taken place. Whatever happened here wasn’t deemed successful. Apparently, Domi could not walk in the days following surgery, which created significant alarm. His status remains in doubt for the coming season,” Simmons wrote.

Hopefully, Domi is okay and can resume his hockey career. But if what Simmons wrote is accurate, then there is obvious concern for the Maple Leafs, as Domi is one of the team’s heart-and-soul players.

Maple Leafs Need to Make Big Moves This Offseason.

Even if Domi can return and play this coming season — and Maple Leafs fans everywhere hope that’s the case — the team still needs to make serious changes after they missed the playoffs this season for the first time in a decade.

The good news for the team is that they have the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, so they can take whoever they want in the draft. That will likely be Penn State University Gavin McKenna, who is the consensus No. 1 prospect in this year’s draft.

The team still needs to make plenty more changes on top of drafting McKenna. They need to improve the defense; they need to add more scoring depth; and they need to figure out what goalies are going to be on the team’s roster next year.

Oh, and they need to hire a new head coach.

New Maple Leafs GM John Chayka has his work cut out for him this offseason. But with plenty of cap space and the No. 1 overall pick to work with, he has a big opportunity to help the Leafs make the improvements they need to get back into the postseason next year.