Domingue Poised for Fresh Start with Penguins

This past summer, Louis Domingue's mental health and motivation had reached a low point.
After a career year in 2018-19 with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where the goaltender went 21-5-0, Domingue's career seemed like it could only get better.

However, the 2019-20 season didn't go as he'd hoped. While the Quebec native still spent time at the NHL level, playing in a combined 17 games for the New Jersey Devils and Vancouver Canucks, neither club served as a permanent home.
Domingue spent the last season in the Calgary organization, primarily on the Flames' taxi squad. He wasn't getting the playing time he was accustomed to, nor was he totally able to settle in, since he split time between the Flames and the Stockton Heat of the American Hockey League.
And with the advent of COVID-19, the 29-year-old goalie didn't really feel involved wherever he went. He missed out on a lot of bonding opportunities that were hindered by the pandemic, and felt further away from team activities and his teammates than ever before.
Needless to say, these factors had a negative effect on how he was able to perform.
"I bounced around that year when I went from Tampa to Syracuse, to Binghamton to Jersey, to Vancouver, and then in the bubble," Domingue said. "And then I went to Calgary, where I didn't really play. I practiced with three people on the ice every morning before the team practiced. Since COVID hit, it's been really hard, not only on me and my game, but also on my mental health. It's tough to balance family, hockey and staying motivated when you're not involved in team activities."

So when Domingue signed a two-way contract with the Penguins on Sept. 2, it served as a fresh start for him. He was able to get back on track, both mentally and physically, as being around his new teammates and coaches helped renew a sense of normalcy while also providing a healthy, competitive environment to improve his game.
New Penguins goaltending coach Andy Chiodo immediately made Domingue feel at home and has already helped him work out several kinks in his game.
"Since coming here, I've had good conversations with Andy. I've never been in a better headspace," Domingue said. "I've improved some things in my game right away that really made sense to me. He changed my whole mindset and the way I was seeing things. I'm in a good headspace right now, and I truly believe I can be back and even better than I was before. I'm very motivated."
Domingue admitted that his shift in mindset didn't happen overnight. Even when he arrived in Pittsburgh, he still had some work to do in that regard. But in just three weeks with the team, he feels more focused than ever.
"If I told you I put in the full effort the last two years, it wasn't the case. Looking back, I left some on the table in (New) Jersey," he said. "Not because I wasn't working hard, but to me it's all about my headspace, how I'm approaching my work and my level of motivation. This summer, I wasn't in a good headspace whatsoever. I didn't believe in myself; I didn't believe I could be back to where I was. And to be honest, my game on the ice, even in practices, wasn't showing either. Now I really made a switch. I came here thinking I was motivated, but I really wasn't. Now it really switched instantly for me. I really feel it, I feel motivated, I feel like I'm going somewhere. I really made the decision to invest everything into myself and hockey."
Perhaps nobody has been more impressed with the netminder's performance so far than Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, who said Domingue could have an opportunity to make an impact in Pittsburgh this season.
"We think he's got a lot of upside," Sullivan said. "He's got NHL experience, first and foremost, and we felt like we needed more depth at that position. In the event that we do get hit with injuries at that position, that depth is critically important. We think he's a guy that has NHL upside, a guy that, depending on what happens moving forward, we could put in the lineup and help us win games."