At one point, it appeared as if the New York Islanders would not bring back Matt Martin. Martin has had a long career in the NHL to this point. But the Islanders seemed ready to move on after failing to win the Stanley Cup. This left his future in the league up in the air. However, the two sides have now come together on an agreement that could prolong his career.
Martin is attending Islanders training camp on a professional tryout, the team confirmed on Friday. Martin has played parts of 15 seasons in the NHL. In fact, he is less than 50 games away from reaching the 1000-game milestone. He would become the 399th player to achieve the feat if he makes New York's roster.
Martin is very familiar with the Islanders organization. He has spent 13 seasons with the team across two stints. This includes the 2023-24 campaign where he skated in 57 games while scoring four goals and eight points.
Matt Martin brings grit and physicality to Islanders
Matt Martin is living proof that those with nearly 1000 games under their belt aren't made the same. A lot of players get to this point by scoring points or coming up big in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Martin, meanwhile, got to this point by being a menace on the ice.
One could classify the Islanders forward as an enforcer. However you label him, the veteran forward is not afraid of physicality. In fact, only one player in league history has more recorded hits than Martin, according to Sportsnet. This goes back to 2007-08 when the NHL first began tracking hits.
The Islanders could certainly use his physicality on the ice. And despite the lack of offense, he certainly could make the roster through training camp. New York general manager Lou Lamoriello admitted as much when speaking with reporters on Friday.
“He’s a legitimate candidate [for the roster],” Lamoriello said, via the New York Post. “He’s trained, we’ve spoken, he wants to play, and we’re totally upfront and honest. We’ll have to get through training camp and make the best decision we can make at this time.”
The Islanders are hoping to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On this front, they received positive news regarding the health of goaltender Ilya Sorokin. And they made some interesting moves in NHL Free Agency to bolster the roster. It'll certainly be interesting to see if the Islanders can start the season on the right foot when the team plays its first game against the Utah Hockey Club on October 10.
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