Spencer Martin has made a positive impression since joining the Hurricanes on waivers in mid-January. He was rewarded for his efforts today as the team announced they’ve signed the goaltender to a one-year, one-way contract extension worth $775K. GM Don Waddell released the following statement on the move:
Spencer has been an excellent addition to our team. He stepped right in and played well for us, and we’re excited to sign him for next season.
Waddell is certainly correct about Martin playing well since Carolina picked him up. The 28-year-old has made five starts with his new team, winning four while posting a 1.97 GAA along with a .922 SV%. Those numbers are a vast improvement on the 3.65 and .887 marks he put up in 13 appearances with the Blue Jackets.
Martin has bounced around this season. He attended training camp with Vancouver but was waived soon after they picked up Casey DeSmith from Montreal. Columbus quickly scooped him up with Daniil Tarasov being injured to start the season. Once he returned, the Blue Jackets briefly carried three goalies before putting him back on the wire where Carolina picked him up with injury concerns of their own.
At the moment, Martin is Carolina’s third-string goalie with Antti Raanta playing in the minors. That’s likely to remain his role for next season with Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen both under contract for 2024-25. Martin could have become an unrestricted free agent in July but instead, he has decided that staying put is the right course of action with what will be his third-straight season on a one-way agreement.
Spencer “Small Sample” Martin