Part of the reason for Max Domi’s career worst points slump can now be explained.
Without a goal in 19 games and with just six assists, Domi was placed on injured reserve Wednesday morning by the Maple Leafs, retroactive to Nov. 16, for a lower body issue.
The club called up rookie right winger Nikita Grebenkin from the AHL Marlies.
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Leafs head coach Craig Berube said the day before that Domi was going through a lot of late and was “banged up … but I’m not overly concerned.”
But as with Auston Matthews, the club’s leading scorer last year who was listed as day-to-day for almost three weeks before turning up at a specialist’s clinic in Germany for the few days ago to have an upper body injury explored, the coach’s optimism was misplaced.
Domi did miss a couple of days on the ice before returning Tuesday. He has not been made available for interviews in several days.
The 6-foot-2 Grebenkin has 10 points in 13 games for the Marlies. A fifth-round pick in 2022, he had a career year last season with Magnitogorsk in the KHL, winning the Gagarin Cup.
Domi joins a casualty list that includes forwards David Kampf (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (groin), Max Pacioretty (leg) and Matthews.
x: @sunhornby