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Matt Martin

Matt Martin Announces Retirement, Joins Islanders Front Office

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Longtime Islanders enforcer Matt Martin has announced his retirement, per a club announcement Tuesday. He’ll join the club’s front office as a special assistant to general manager Mathieu Darche.

A fifth-round pick by the Isles as an overager in 2008, Martin rose the ranks quicker than expected for his draft slot and made his NHL debut in February 2010 amid his first professional season. He became a fourth-line fixture in his second season. He maintained that role through the 2015-16 campaign, eventually forming one of the most recognizable checking lines of the decade with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. While never a huge scorer, he did have 10 goals in the final season of his first stint on Long Island and averaged a remarkable 379 hits per 82 games over his first seven NHL seasons.

Martin left Long Island for the Maple Leafs in free agency in 2016, signing a four-year, $10MM contract. While that value indicated Toronto was looking for him to play an increased role compared to his fourth-line deployment in New York, the opposite happened. After averaging around 11 minutes per game with the Islanders, he averaged just 8:33 per game over two seasons in Toronto. He sat as a healthy scratch for much of the 2017-18 season and was traded back to the Islanders the following summer.

Injuries became more of a theme for Martin in his second go-around with the Isles, but he regained his role alongside Cizikas and Clutterbuck and was a lineup fixture when healthy. He was still quite effective as a checking forward up to a few years ago, even matching his career-high 19 points in 2022-23. His ice time and deployment saw a reduction beginning in 2023-24 as his already minimal offensive value disappeared, and he appeared in just 32 games last season after pondering retirement but landing a PTO and subsequent one-year deal to return to New York for his 16th NHL season.

Martin retires as the Islanders’ all-time leader in hits with 3,489, and his 3,936 career checks are 93 short of the all-time record held by his longtime teammate, Clutterbuck, who also recently announced his retirement after not playing in 2024-25. His 855 games played are the eighth-most in franchise history.

All of us at PHR wish Martin the best in retirement and congratulate him on a career that will permanently cement him with the latest iteration of Islanders hockey.

Image courtesy of Tom Horak-Imagn Images.

Islanders Activate Mike Reilly And Matt Martin

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The Islanders made a pair of roster moves leading into tonight’s game against San Jose.  Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News relays that defenseman Mike Reilly was activated off LTIR while winger Matt Martin was activated off injured reserve.

Reilly has been out since the beginning of November when he suffered a concussion.  However, that hasn’t been what has kept him out this long.  While undergoing testing as a result of the concussion, it was discovered that the 31-year-old had an undiagnosed heart defect.  Fortunately, Reilly told reporters including Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that the issue has been corrected and there are no long-term concerns.  He has been skating with the team lately but despite the activation, he’s not expected to play against the Sharks.

Reilly has played in 11 games this season and had been playing a regular role before suffering the concussion.  He didn’t record a point in those outings while averaging 15:45 per game.  For his career, he has 122 points in 411 appearances over parts of 10 NHL seasons.

As for Martin, he last played in mid-January and had been dealing with a lower-body injury.  The 35-year-old eventually earned a contract off an extended PTO but his role has been quite limited this year when he has played.  Through 24 games, he has just one assist along with 68 hits in less than eight minutes a night of ice time.

Islanders Place Matt Martin On IR, Activate Noah Dobson From LTIR

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Feb. 26: Per the NHL media site (and shared by Rosner), the Islanders have officially activated Dobson from the long-term injured reserve making him available for tomorrow’s contest. Additionally, New York has transferred center Mathew Barzal from injured reserve to LTIR to create the necessary cap space for Dobson’s return.

Feb. 25: It’s a lower-body injury for Martin, Rosner reports. Dobson won’t return tonight against the Rangers but is probable for Thursday against the Bruins, he adds.

Feb. 25: The New York Islanders have reportedly placed forward Matt Martin on injured reserve (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News), opening the door for them to activate defenseman Noah Dobson off LTIR. The Islanders needed to open up room for Dobson and could have placed a player on waivers to do so, however, Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello opted to use IR to open up a spot.

Martin began the year on a PTO before signing a one-year deal for the NHL minimum ($775K) when the Islanders began dealing with injury issues. The 35-year-old hasn’t played since January 16th, making it unclear when he suffered the injury. The 12-game absence likely signals what the rest of Martin’s season will look like as he probably won’t see much action regardless of injury status, unless the Islanders trade away several members of their NHL roster or go through another bout of the injury bug.

Martin has dressed in 24 games this year for the Islanders, posting a single assist, 68 hits and 15 blocked shots. He carved out a nice NHL career for himself and was once a pretty solid forechecker but at this stage of his career, he doesn’t offer much at the NHL level. Martin has played very little when he has dressed, averaging just 7:47 of ice time per game and has been decimated on the possession front, posting a CF% of 35.4%.

Dobson is expected to be activated after the Islanders’ morning skate today. The 25-year-old hasn’t played since January 20th and has had a lower-body injury. His absence created a big hole for the Islanders as he has been averaging a shade over 24 minutes of ice time per game and has continued to be a terrific play driver. His offensive numbers have fallen off this season, registering six goals and 18 assists in 46 games, and he continues to be a polarizing player for Islanders fans who don’t see him as a fit on the power play and question some of his decisions with the puck.

Evening Notes: Martin, Colton, Wood, Rust

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Matt Martin’s recently signed one-year deal with the New York Islanders will pay him a prorated salary of $775K for the season (as per PuckPedia). Martin’s deal is a one-way contract with an AAV of $875K, meaning he will make $775K in the AHL or NHL. The contract also includes a $100K bonus if the 35-year-old plays ten games in the NHL this season.

The bonus in the contract is a bit peculiar given that the Islanders were likely the only suitor for Martin’s services after he lingered unsigned in free agency for over three months. However, the $100K bonus won’t impact New York much as they can roll any overage into next season when they will have over $20MM in cap space.

In other evening notes:

  • Colorado Avalanche forwards Miles Wood and Ross Colton are expected to play tonight when the Avalanche take on the Ottawa Senators (as per Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports). Both players missed team practice yesterday after they were banged up in Thursday night’s game against Utah. Colorado head coach Jared Bednar told the media yesterday that the team was trying to allow the players to recover so that they wouldn’t miss any game time. It would appear the tactic worked, which is good news for a team that has lost a pile of man games this season.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust left last night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks with a lower-body injury (as per Ryan Gagne of The Hockey News). The 32-year-old was run into the boards by Canucks forward Nils Hoglander, who had some choice words for him as he left the ice. The Penguins were quick to rule the veteran out for the remainder of the game which isn’t a great sign for the struggling club moving forward. Pittsburgh has yet to provide an update and returned to Pittsburgh today after a disastrous road trip through Western Canada that saw the Penguins go 0-3-1. Pittsburgh plays at home on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild.

Islanders Sign Matt Martin, Make Several Other Roster Moves

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The Islanders are back in action tonight against Florida and have made several roster moves in advance of that contest.  The team announced (Twitter link) that winger Anthony Duclair was placed on LTIR while Liam Foudy was assigned to AHL Bridgeport.  With the cap savings from those two moves, the team has signed veteran winger Matt Martin to a one-year contract and recalled wingers Pierre Engvall and Hudson Fasching from the minors.

Martin has spent all but two of his 15 NHL seasons with the Isles, becoming a key member of their fourth line along the way.  It looked like the two sides would part ways over the summer when he was told that he wouldn’t be offered a contract.  However, when he hadn’t reached a deal heading into training camp, Martin signed a PTO with New York, allowing him to play and practice with them for the preseason.  No contract came along then but he remained on a tryout deal into the season, suggesting that it was only a matter of time before he received a contract, the financial terms of which were not disclosed.

The 35-year-old has played in 955 career NHL games between New York and Toronto, recording 176 points, 1,158 penalty minutes, and 3,849 hits.  With the series of roster moves the team made, he will be available to suit up against Florida tonight if head coach Patrick Roy wants to put him in the lineup.

Duclair’s placement on LTIR comes as no surprise.  Earlier this week, it was revealed that he’ll miss four to six weeks due to the leg injury he sustained last weekend.  With the Islanders operating very close to the salary cap, gaining even some short-term flexibility will certainly help.  Duclair’s placement was backdated to October 19th and he must miss at least 10 games and 24 days from then although the expected timeline for recovery will run longer than that.

Foudy’s time with the big club was relatively short-lived.  He was only brought up on Tuesday, taking Julien Gauthier’s place on the active roster.  The 24-year-old played in two games while on recall and was held off the scoresheet while averaging just 7:27 per game.  Foudy has 104 career NHL appearances under his belt now between three separate organizations.  He has four assists in five games so far with Bridgeport.

Engvall is in the second season of a seven-year, $21MM contract which made it both surprising and not surprising that he was on waivers at the end of training camp.  Needing to open up cap room (his demotion saved them $1.15MM prorated), he was a safe bet to pass through unclaimed.  That said, the fact he hit the wire just a year after being retained as a key secondary piece is an outcome few would have foreseen.  The 28-year-old had 10 goals and 14 assists in 74 NHL games last season and has just one tally in six games so far with Bridgeport.

Fasching played in 45 games with the Isles last season where he had four goals and ten assists.  However, that wasn’t enough to save him from going through waivers late in training camp where he passed through unclaimed.  He has a goal and an assist in five games so far with Bridgeport.

As a result of these roster moves, the Islanders are now at the maximum of 23 players on the active roster.

Metropolitan Notes: Holmström, Martin, Flyers, Nadeau

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At long last, Islanders forward Simon Holmström appears ready to push for a top-six role. Head coach Patrick Roy thinks so, at least, he told The Hockey News’ Stefen Rosner.

Holmström, the Isles’ 2019 first-round pick, has established himself as a full-time NHLer over the past two seasons. But he’s been used almost exclusively as a bottom-six option at even strength with some fringe penalty-killing usage as well.

He began to flash some extended offensive upside last season, recording 15 goals and 25 points in 75 games. Those aren’t top-six totals on a playoff team, nor was Holmström ever drafted to be a true game-breaker on the scoresheet, but he’s showing the “compete level” necessary to flash his puck skills more often and fit better in a complementary role alongside Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, Roy said.

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Expect Matt Martin’s professional tryout with the Isles to last past when opening night rosters are due on Oct. 7, Rosner and The Hockey News’ Kai Russell write. Players can remain with a team’s practice group, just not game action, on PTOs up until the trade deadline. The Bruins took advantage of this tactic last season, keeping Danton Heinen around on his PTO for almost a month into the season before they created the cap space necessary to sign him to a contract. The Islanders, which currently have exactly $0 in cap space with an open roster spot (PuckPedia), may need to do the same if they want to bring the 35-year-old back for his 14th season on Long Island.
  • Early line rushes in camp suggest Flyers Calder Trophy candidate Matvei Michkov will start his first NHL season in a second-line role at right wing alongside Tyson Foerster and Morgan Frost, The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz writes. Meanwhile, Noah Cates may fall victim to the press box early on in the season after finishing ninth in Calder voting and 15th in Selke Trophy voting just two seasons ago. The 25-year-old has had a continually diminishing impact as the Flyers have built out the rest of their forward corps, seeing his ATOI drop from 17:46 in his rookie season to 13:48 last season.
  • Seth Jarvis’ pathway to the NHL offers hope for Hurricanes winger Bradly Nadeau and his chances of cracking the opening night roster, opines Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer. Both first-round picks, Jarvis cracked Carolina’s roster as a 19-year-old in his second season after being drafted, skipping the AHL and landing a full-time role in the NHL directly out of juniors. Nadeau has faced older competition, recording 46 points in 37 NCAA games last season for the University of Maine before signing his entry-level contract and making his NHL debut in Carolina’s final game of the regular season.

Islanders Sign Matt Martin To PTO

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The Islanders are bringing back a familiar face, according to general manager Lou Lamoriello, who told reporters today that they’ll have veteran enforcer Matt Martin in training camp on a PTO (via Ethan Sears of the New York Post).

It’s an unsurprising move for both sides at first glance. Martin, 35, has spent 13 of his 15 NHL seasons on Long Island, racking up 823 appearances since they drafted him in the fifth round in 2008. Aside from a brief detour in Toronto from 2016 to 2018, the heavy hitter has only signed contracts with the Islanders, including his most recent one – a four-year, $6MM pact that expired this summer.

But this is a bit of a course reversal from Lamoriello, who said last month he was unlikely to bring back Martin or longtime linemate Cal Clutterbuck. He’ll hold true to the latter half of that statement, though, confirming today Clutterbuck was not offered a PTO (per Newsday’s Andrew Gross). Martin said a couple of weeks ago that he was intent on returning to the Isles with a chance at playing his 1,000th career regular season game in 2024-25.

Martin posted four goals and four assists in 57 games last season, pacing just slightly south of his career offensive averages while averaging 9:19 per game. He finished second on the team in PIMs (43) and fifth in hits (151). He has 1,158 career PIMs in 955 games.

If Martin manages to land a deal, it’ll likely be a league-minimum pact and could result in him being waived for the first time in his career. The Islanders do have an open roster spot but are completely capped out with $0 in projected space, per PuckPedia. If he’s sent to the minors, it would be his first time suiting up for AHL Bridgeport since the 2010-11 season.

Metropolitan Notes: Fast, Dube, Keller, Martin

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The Hurricanes still don’t know whether winger Jesper Fast will be available come opening night, says Cory Lavalette of The Athletic. Fast surprisingly missed all of Carolina’s playoff games after a mysterious late-season neck injury left him in a brace that he was still sporting during exit meetings.

Lavalette points out that the 32-year-old is at least out of the brace, which we know thanks to pictures he was spotted during teammate Sebastian Aho’s wedding over the summer. But both the player and team were vague about the nature of his injury at the end of the postseason, and there haven’t been any reports about what specific type of neck injury Fast sustained since.

The Swede had just six goals and 19 points in 73 games last year, his worst offensive output since his rookie campaign with the Rangers 10 years ago. His 12:36 average time on ice was also the lowest since then. He’s still a valuable penalty killer with great skating speed, though, and has one season left on his contract at a $2.4MM cap hit.

If he’s not cleared to play by October, it’ll be a significant boon to the chances of prospects Jackson Blake, Bradly Nadeau and Felix Unger Sörum cracking the opening night roster in his stead.

Other updates from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Capitals prospects Pierrick Dube and Antoine Keller are both getting the call to the French national team for this month’s 2026 Winter Olympics qualifiers, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News relays. Dube, a 23-year-old forward from Lyon, was an undrafted free agent signing by the Caps last summer and made his NHL debut in his first year under contract, posting a +1 rating in three games in a fourth-line role. He had 28 goals and 48 points in 66 games with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears, who won their second straight Calder Cup in 2024. He last represented France at a major international tournament at the 2020 Division 1B World Juniors. The 19-year-old Keller, meanwhile, will likely serve as France’s third-string goalie. The 2023 seventh-round pick will make his professional debut next season with Switzerland’s Lausanne HC after spending last year in junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan. France must win a round-robin tournament with Latvia, Slovenia and Ukraine to gain a spot in the next Olympics.
  • Longtime Islanders enforcer Matt Martin remains an unrestricted free agent but is fully intent on returning to the club, he tells Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News. “I’m focused on playing here, first and foremost,” he said. “We’ll see how things unfold.” A reunion would be a reversal from earlier this month when general manager Lou Lamoriello told Ethan Sears of the New York Post that he was unlikely to re-sign Martin or frequent linemate Cal Clutterbuck. Martin has played 823 of his 955 career NHL games in an Isles uniform, racking up 155 points and 985 PIMs. He was a fifth-round pick of the club back in 2008.

Islanders Unlikely To Bring Back Matt Martin Or Cal Clutterbuck

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A pair of long-time Islanders remain unsigned more than five weeks into free agency with wingers Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck still on the open market.  That has led some to wonder if New York might be able to find a way to bring them back into the fold at a lower price tag.

Speaking with Ethan Sears of the New York Post, GM Lou Lamoriello tried to pour cold water on that idea.  While he didn’t entirely rule the idea out, he indicated that it’s something he’s not considering at this time:

We’ll probably be moving on. That isn’t saying things can’t change. We’re talking about two veterans, two quality individuals. Two team leaders and two real good hockey players, so we’ll have to see how things come about.

Martin is a veteran of 15 NHL seasons, all but two of which have come with the Isles.  The 35-year-old has yet to reach 20 points in a single season but in his prime, he was a key cog of a strong and physical fourth line group that could play bigger minutes than a fourth line generally does.  Last season, Martin was limited to just 57 games between injuries and a few healthy scratches, collecting four goals and four assists along with 151 hits.

Clutterbuck, meanwhile, has a 17-year NHL career with the last 11 of those seasons being played in New York.  While his peak offensive years were better than Martin’s, a lot of his per-season numbers wound up being pretty close as another member of that vaunted fourth line.  Last season, Clutterbuck managed to stay healthy, playing the first 82-game campaign of his career where he picked up seven goals, 12 assists, and 273 hits.

Lamoriello elected to bring in a pair of more offensive-minded forwards to take their spots on the roster this summer.  Anthony Duclair was brought in on a four-year, $14MM contract while they beat out many suitors to land Russian winger Maxim Tsyplakov on a one-year, entry-level pact.  With the Isles failing to crack the top 20 in goals scored for the past three seasons, looking for more firepower and speed certainly made sense although it comes at the expense of a pair of fan favorites who will have to look elsewhere if they want to continue their respective careers.

Metro Notes: Islanders, Dillon, Malenstyn, Smith

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Speaking with the General Manager of the New York Islanders Lou Lamoriello, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports that veteran forwards Cal Clutterbuck and Matt Martin are expected to hit unrestricted free agency on Monday. Each player has spent more than a decade with the Islanders’ organization but the team appears headed for a different direction this summer.

Additionally, on the restricted free agent front, Gross relays that New York is prepared to qualify Oliver Wahlstrom but will also look to trade him this summer. As the 11th overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, Wahlstrom may still hold some value as a change-of-scenery candidate; however, the prospects of that don’t look promising after numerous disappointing seasons with the Islanders. Over five years at the professional level, Wahlstrom has suited up in 193 games for New York but has only mustered 34 goals and 67 points over that stretch.

Even if Clutterbuck and Martin make it to the free agent market on July 1st, there isn’t a guarantee that either will leave the Islanders organization. Lamoriello has a habit of keeping his contract negotiations very close to the vest throughout his career and may wait to see how things play out after the first day. However, if New York does not retain either player, they are almost guaranteed a fourth-line role wherever they end up.

Other Metro notes:

  • With the New Jersey Devils already expected to make a hard run at free-agent defenseman Brett Pesce over the next couple of days, there is another defenseman that the team will be monitoring. Regardless of the team’s negotiations with Pesce, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the team is also prepared to extend an offer to Brenden Dillon. By moving out defenseman John Marino earlier today in a trade with the Utah Hockey Club, the Devils will have the roster spots and cap flexibility to bring both defensemen into the organization.
  • Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports that the Washington Capitals previously had zero intentions of moving forward Beck Malenstyn this summer but the Buffalo Sabres gave them an offer they couldn’t refuse. After scoring six goals and 21 points in 81 games for the Capitals this season in a middle-six role, the organization moved Malenstyn for the 43rd overall pick of the 2024 NHL Draft. Washington used the pick to select defenseman Cole Hutson out of the US National Team Development Program after scoring 15 goals and 51 points in 51 games.
  • Back in New Jersey, the Devils will open up an additional spot on defense in the next few days as the organization is not expected to extend a contract offer to defenseman Brendan Smith (X Link). Smith has spent the last two years in the Garden State and recently concluded one of the more productive seasons of his career as he scored five goals and 15 points in 63 games while averaging 16:06 of ice time per night.
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