A tale of two Domis: A Game 7 hero and a famous father jumping on Hurricanes bandwagon

Luke DeCock
·4 min read

Let us not visit the sins of the father upon the son. Tie Domi was as hated here as he was anywhere else, although it’s a two-way street, given that the Carolina Hurricanes put an end to what may have been his best shot at a Stanley Cup.

So what a strange world we are living in that nobody, nowhere could have been happier than Domi to see the Hurricanes win and advance Saturday, and that would have been true even if Max Domi hadn’t been the surprise star.

Playoff hockey makes for strange alliances, and none may be stranger than the newest Huge Caniac, celebrating in the seats at PNC Arena wearing a Hurricanes hat, in the same building where he once took 10 penalty minutes in an Eastern Conference finals game: a 1-0 Toronto Maple Leafs win, nine days short of 20 years ago.

The Leafs won that battle. The Hurricanes won the series. Tie Domi never made it that deep into the postseason again. It’s not so much that time healed those wounds; fatherhood left him no choice.

“He doesn’t care. He doesn’t care at all,” Max Domi said Monday. “Wherever I play, he’s the biggest fan in the world. Pretty simple. Nothing else really matters. He could care less about what’s happened in the past. What’s past is in the past.”

The immutable truth here is people will do just about anything for their kids, and hockey parents are no different with their sons and daughters even when said parent is a current NHL coach or former NHL player. Rod Brind’Amour was out on the ice with his son Skyler again after practice Monday; it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he could find himself watching the Edmonton Oilers – who took Skyler in the sixth round in 2017 – or some other team that isn’t the Hurricanes with a deep rooting interest someday.

That’s probably harder for a fully employed coach and easier for a fully retired player like Tie Domi, who did most of his damage with the Maple Leafs but has switched alliances throughout Max’s career – even to the truly hated Montreal Canadiens. By that standard, the Hurricanes are an easier swallow, 2002 aside. The feeling is slightly mutual, with Brind’Amour at least, who both welcomes the Hurricanes’ newest bandwagon fan and understands his perspective.

“I only knew him on the ice,” Brind’Amour said. “He was a tough dude and I stayed away from him the best I could. I’ve met him a few times now. Nice guy. But I didn’t have a relationship with him. Everything kind of comes around at some point. It’s amazing.”

Max Domi said his father would prefer to avoid the spotlight – there’s no chance he would sound the PNC warning siren, which was one question posed, although that’s Max’s preference anyway – so his presence, choice of headwear and suddenly Hurricanes-saturated Twitter feed will have to suffice as evidence of his new fandom.

As for the son, Domi’s star turn in the Game 7 win over the Boston Bruins — two goals and an assist in the 3-2 win — wasn’t a total surprise. He’d earned a promotion to the Vincent Trocheck line with his play in Game 5, moving ahead of the disappointingly ineffective Martin Necas for Game 6 and staying there Saturday. By the time it was over, he’d tied the family record for goals in a postseason (two).

Domi can also now claim a spot among the very short list of low-cost trade-deadline acquisitions that truly proved their worth. The Hurricanes added him to add scoring depth and that’s exactly what he provided at the most critical moment of the season. He has bounced all over the lineup since his arrival, and probably will again as the Hurricanes move on to face the New York Rangers in the second round starting Wednesday.

“I think it’s behind us now,” Domi said. “It’s just all about opportunity, right? Whatever role I’m in, I’m here for the short term, and you have to understand you’re coming to a team that’s had some success. Even though you might usually be in a certain spot, you’re not going to get that same opportunity here. And that’s totally fine.”

For the moment, he’s just a son advancing through the playoffs, with a famous – and very happy – father.

Never miss a Luke DeCock column. Sign up at tinyurl.com/lukeslatest to have them delivered directly to your email inbox as soon as they post.

Luke DeCock’s Latest: Never miss a column on the Canes, ACC or other Triangle sports

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Trump media shares gain as it alerts Nasdaq of 'potential market manipulation'

    Trump Media & Technology Group has alerted the CEO of Nasdaq of "potential market manipulation" in its shares, it disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Data made available to us indicate that just four market participants have been responsible for over 60% of the extraordinary volume of DJT shares traded: Citadel Securities, Virtu Americas, G1 Execution Services and Jane Street Capital."

  • Melissa Barrera feels sense of closure with Scream character despite firing

    The In the Heights actress, who starred as Sam Carpenter in the fifth and sixth Scream films, was fired from Scream VII in November after the studio deemed some of her pro-Palestine social media posts to be antisemitic. Barrrera shared on Collider’s Ladies Night podcast that while she won't get to complete Sam's story with the seventh instalment, Barrera feels a sense of closure with her character's arc. “I feel I've gotten closure, yeah, my head is clear. I feel like the ending of (Scream) 6 was a very good ending…”

  • US House advances $95 billion Ukraine-Israel package toward Saturday vote

    The U.S. House of Representatives advanced a $95 billion legislative package on Friday providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific in a broad bipartisan vote, overcoming hardline Republican opposition that had held it up for months. Friday's procedural vote, which passed 316-94 with more support from Democrats than the Republicans who hold a narrow majority, advanced a package similar to a measure that passed the Democratic-majority Senate in February. Democratic President Joe Biden, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries had been pushing for a House vote since then.

  • Streaming: Are consumers fed up with subscription costs yet?

    Streaming services have raised subscriptions costs in recent years with a potential for prices to keep increasing down the line. With inflation making its way through consumer goods and services, how are consumers feeling about these price increases? Will they continue to opt in to select services or should streaming companies like Amazon Prime Video (AMZN) be worried? D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Marketing Koen Pauwels joins Wealth! to give insight into how consumers are reacting to rising subscription costs from streaming providers.  "If you're the kind of consumer who is relatively price insensitive and you don't want to be bothered with ads and you want all of your shows to be on one kind of data provider so you don't have to lose the time to figure out which show is where, then you're going to settle [and] select for this ad-free tier," Pauwels points out, "which also means that Netflix (NFLX) can continue raising prices on that one because their pool of consumers choosing for this non-ad service is going to be more restricted, more selective who don't care about prices that much." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • The Bad News Heading Into AbbVie's First-Quarter Earnings Report

    AbbVie stock has slumped 10% off its record high in March and is facing increasingly steep competition for its biggest moneymaker, Humira.

  • Thompson Golf Club Receives Generous Donation from TNRC for Junior Golf Program

    The Thompson Golf Club, located in the city of Thompson, Manitoba, recently received a generous donation of $5,000.00 from the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (TNRC) to support their Junior Golf Program for the 2023 season. The money was used to purchase various prizes for “Junior Day,” which was held every Monday afternoon, where children were treated to some golf, pizza, and prizes. The biggest purchase from the grant money was 12 sets of golf clubs. The sets were designed to cater

  • More info about new police board for Bruce Grey

    The new board which is the community liaison for the whole Bruce-Grey OPP detachment began as the new provincial policing act was proclaimed on Apr. 1. Right now, each municipality that OPP serves under Section 10 has its own board. BOARD MAY START LATE Southgate Police Services board met in March, and decided it will meet again for a wrap-up meeting on May 21. While the new provincial Act was proclaimed Apr. 1, due to transition challenges, the new board may not meet until May or June, said a r

  • Train driver who took photos up sleeping woman’s skirt spared jail term

    Paolo Barone, wearing his work uniform, repeatedly took photographs of the sleeping woman throughout his 45-minute rail journey.

  • Amazon shoppers dub this the 'most flattering T-shirt ever' — get it for under $20

    This top's fluttery petal sleeves and slightly oversized fit set it apart from the crowd, fans say.

  • Curbside recycling changes in Saint John will end nighttime collection

    Saint John will be rolling out a new curbside recycling program at the beginning of May that will see all residents putting their recycling out by 7 a.m. for collection, with no more nighttime pickup, as Miller Waste, a private company, takes over collection."The majority of the residents will also see a change in the day of the week in which they have the recycling collected," said Tim O'Reilly, director of public works for the city, adding there will be no change to garbage collection.The move

  • UPDATE 1-IMF committee acknowledges conflicts risk but opts against joint communique

    The International Monetary Fund's steering committee failed to issue a joint communique on Friday amid disagreements over wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, opting instead for a statement from the body's chair that acknowledged the economic risks posed by the conflicts. International Monetary and Financial Committee "members discussed the global macroeconomic and financial impact of current wars and conflicts including the war in Ukraine, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as the shipping disruptions in the Red Sea," Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, the body's chair, said in a statement.

  • Major water users in southern Alberta agree to curb consumption in face of drought

    CALGARY — Major water users in southern Alberta have agreed to curb their consumption if there's a severe drought this spring or summer. Rebecca Schulz, the provincial environment minister, says it won't be known whether the agreements need to be acted upon until snowpack information comes in later this month. The Alberta government has announced water-sharing agreements covering four sub-basins — the Red Deer River, the Bow River, the mainstem of the Oldman River and upper tributaries of the Ol

  • AJ Simon, Albany defensive standout and NFL draft prospect, dies at 25

    Simon had visited with the Patriots ahead of next week's NFL draft.

  • Which countries have nuclear weapons?

    Nine countries currently have nuclear weapons – some legally and some illegally – with an estimated 12,100 warheads between them as of early-2024.

  • Insurance Stock Hits New Highs After 34% Gain Year To Date

    Insurance stock Progressive is at an all-time high after first quarter results. Shares have outperformed the S&P 500 with a 34% gain year to date.

  • Bomb threat evacuates Louisville zoo

    The zoo has been given the all-clear after police said it appears to be a ‘false call’

  • Province calls Gate Gourmet, striking airline catering workers back to bargaining

    The union representing striking airline catering workers says Ontario mediators have called them back to the table for talks with employer Gate Gourmet. About 800 food service staff at Toronto's Pearson airport went on strike Tuesday, leaving thousands of passengers without meals this week. The workers cook, package and deliver food and beverages to planes for service on board, with Air Canada and WestJet having to limit meal offerings after the job action. Teamsters Canada claims some long-haul

  • Rebel Moon 2 debuts with brutal Rotten Tomatoes rating

    Netflix's latest addition to the Rebel Moon franchise, Part Two: The Scargiver, has received a brutal Rotten Tomatoes score after first reviews.

  • Ilhan Omar’s daughter arrested at New York ‘Gaza solidarity camp’

    The daughter of Left-wing congresswoman Ilhan Omar has been arrested after taking part in a “Gaza solidarity encampment” at New York’s Columbia University.

  • Drying out and breezy

    Drying out and breezy