The New York Islanders haven’t announced it yet, but word has come out that the extension for fourth-liner Matt Martin is quite a bit bigger than expected. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported today that it would be a “bit of a surprise” and that it would reflect the Islanders’ loyalty to the big forward. Arthur Staple of The Athletic tweets that it is expected to be a four-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5MM. New York GM Lou Lamoriello recently confirmed the team had re-signed Martin, but the contract has yet to be officially filed with the league.
Sure, a four-year deal for a fourth-line player is usually a surprise, but perhaps it shouldn’t be one in this specific instance. Martin is actually coming off two previous four-year contracts, one signed with the Islanders in 2012 and one signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 (notably with Lamoriello, who was GM of the Maple Leafs at the time). This one will come in somewhere between the $4MM he earned on that first deal and $10MM he earned on his last, but still means that Martin will be more than twice as expensive as the league minimum.
For a player that scored just eight points last season and has a career-high of 19, this kind of commitment is exceedingly rare. But Martin is beloved in the Islanders locker room and does often impact the game positively, even if it’s not by putting the puck in the net. His defensive ability is actually a bit underrated, with opponents generating fewer shots when he’s on the ice, while he is also always among the league leaders in hits, something still valued by the tough-as-nails Barry Trotz system. The fact that Martin actually rarely takes minor penalties is also a rarity for a player of his ilk; in 2019-20 he took only five of the two-minute variety.
At one point in the past, the trio of Martin, Cal Clutterbuck, and Casey Cizikas was known as the most effective fourth line in the league. The Islanders obviously believe that the 31-year-old Martin can still be an asset in that role.
Why? He sucks.
um wat
Bottom six players should never get more than three, possibly even two year deals.
Dose that make Ross Johnson odd man out?
This is what Lou does. When a guy does right by Lou, he often reciprocates. A slight eyebrow-raiser of a deal, but, as Gavin accurately reported, his PIMs-per-game are lower than most of his previous years, yet he is still fairly effective on that fourth line. The COVID-cap doesn’t make it look like a smart move, but it’s more about Lou’s loyalty to Matt. Maybe Lou sees some organizations throwing away their “valuable veteran presence” guys, and says “not here, at least not this one.”
$1.5m isn’t that bad. Definitely a bit more than the stats say he deserves but the price isn’t really prohibitive. While it could’ve been accomplished with a shorter term deal as well, I wonder how much (if any) consideration was put into this contract for the expansion draft. Not sure what the Islanders’ player exposure situation will look like but I imagine Martin will end up being one of the players exposed.
That’s an interesting take. Price your guy out of the expansion draft (hopefully) and expose him, and 1.5 isn’t crazy. The guy is consistent, and has shown flashes of the ability to show ability. It is curious with the NYI cap situation though. Gotta think someone is on the trade block, as the cap crisis looks to continue for a few years