He was drafted in 1988 by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round, 27th overall. In 1989, he turned professional with the Newmarket Saints, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Leafs. After two games with the Leafs, he was traded to the New York Rangers in 1990. In 1992 he was traded again to the Winnipeg Jets. He assisted on the goal that gave Teemu Selänne the rookie season scoring record.
In 1995, Domi was traded back to the Toronto Maple Leafs and was immediately adored by fans for his ruthless playing style and often hilarious antics both on and off the ice. Domi would be one of the most consistent and popular members of the Leafs until his retirement in 2006. He has more penalty minutes than any other player in the history of the Maple Leafs (see Maple Leafs records) and third overall in penalty minutes in NHL history. In the 1997–98 season, Domi set a Leafs single-season record with 365 penalty minutes, passing a mark set by the legendary Tiger Williams in the 1977–78 season. He had his best season in the 2003-2004 NHL season, where he set career highs of 15 goals and 29 points.
In what turned out to be his final season of 2005–06, Domi scored his 100th NHL goal. Also, Domi played his 1,000th career NHL game, on March 3, 2006 against the Buffalo Sabres. Seven days later, 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 had been made a healthy scratch by coach Pat Quinn. Domi stated publicly that he was not happy with being benched, a fact that was underlined by his staying in his hotel room, not arriving at the game until after the second period. This is widely regarded as a contributing factor in the decision to buy out his contract.
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 19, 2006, Tie Domi announced his retirement from the NHL and a 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.
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