Here is the eval of Trevor Lewis in case you missed it last time!
Alec Martinez #27
Age: 27
Contract Status: $1.1MM AAV through 2014-15
Stats:
Other stats:
Shooting %: 13.9 (Career: 8.6)
Postseason GWG: 3
Corsi for: 14.35
dCorsi: -0.54
(If you don't know what delta corsi is I highly recommend checking out
this post by Steve Burtch over at Pension Plan Puppets.)
His season:
First off, let's get this one out of the way right away. This goal was awesome. It was a great team effort through and through, and Martinez ended up on the spot for what was one of the biggest and most dramatic goals in Kings history.
It is where Martinez did what will forever be known as the "Jazz Hands" celebration, it is where the Kings buried the notion that they were a one-hit wonder, and it pushed the mythical status of Alec Martinez slightly higher.
But in a whole, Martinez had a pretty up and down year. Statistically speaking, the 27-year old defenseman had one of his best seasons on record, with 22 points and 11 goals in 61 games. It's especially impressive when you look at the arc of his season, and how he struggled mightily in the first 40 games of the season. In fact, Martinez had just 6 points and 4 goals over that stretch of 40.
He was held out of the lineup by Sutter and company on several occasions int he stretch from October to the Olympic break, but the Michigan native must have done some soul searching during his time off. His second half was nothing short of fantastic. In the remaining 21 games after the Olympic break, Martinez put up 16 points and saw his ice time go from the low teens to the 20 minute mark by year's end. His point per game pace over the year was slightly less than that of Voynov and Doughty, but his pace from the Olympic break to the final game winning goal was better overall than the two aforementioned defensemen. His emergence in the second half was no doubt a critical part of the Kings pushing for a second cup. He is, in reality, and ideal third pairing puck-mover. Even though his point pace was comparable to the Kings upper echelon defensemen, he doesn't bring the ability or confidence to carry the puck or drive the play like a Drew Doughty or Slava Voynov (Yes, rough year aside, Slava can do this well.) He is a very nice addition to a powerplay unit given his accurate shooting, and his defensive zone work is also quite strong. As stated, he's a tremendous third-pairing guy.
It was nice to see such a blue-collar defenseman score a big goal for the Kings, and it was a nice punctuation mark on how Martinez's season went overall.
Moving Forward
Martinez is up for contract after this season, and as much as Kings fans like Martinez for his newly found "clutch" factor, it could be a difficult task to retain him. He is a great 5-6 defenseman, but the Kings have a lot of 5-6 guys with higher ceilings in the minors. Also, Martinez may feel he is line for a raise given the nature of his playoff performance and his age. Don't think scoring the cup winning goal makes a difference in negotiations?
See Bolland, Dave. Hopefully he doesn't price himself out of LA because Martinez certainly still has a lot to offer to a cup contending team. Despite his down year in a number of possession based stats, Martinez has shown in the past that he can be better in that aspect of the game. The value is there for him though, especially when you compare Martinez to other puck-moving 5-7 defenseman around the league on cup competitive team (Ex. Nick Leddy, Sami Vatanen, Ryan Wilson, Ian Cole, Jason Demers, Kyle Quincey etc.). He may be able to fetch a pretty fair price with a team that isn't so competitive and is looking to stack up on defensive depth. Nonetheless, that's a long ways away and Martinez has one more year with the Kings for now. The Kings don't really have an immediate replacement in the minors for a puck mover, and Nick Ebert, Zach Leslie, and Roland McKeown a fairly far off in terms of NHL days.
What Martinez can do in the immediate future is stay consistent. His early season struggles were something that pushed him out of the lineup, and don't think that Darryl Sutter wouldn't do that again in favor of Brayden McNabb or Robyn Regehr. When he struggles, Martinez tends to be the lowest man on the totem pole, and that's just how it is. However, he is in control of his own destiny and if he plays well there really isn't a better option in terms of an offensive oriented third pair guy. It is the dreaded "Contract year" which teams and fans love and hate. Sometimes it can push the level of play from a player up a notch, but at the same time it can elevate the perceived value of said player. We shall see what Martinez does in 2014-15. As far as statistical value goes I don't think it will be easy for him to top what he did last season, and 30-35 points seems to be about his ceiling. He could definitely stand to carry the puck more himself if he wants to hit that next level. At 27 he still has a lot of time to do so and is just entering the prime of his hockey career.
A rough first half gave way to a fairly outstanding second half. All of this was capped off in fairly dramatic and fitting fashion for No. 27. To me a solid B is a just reward. If you wanted to be a bit more skeptical of his possession numbers you could argue a B- or even a C, but given his role with the team I don't think you can be too unhappy overall with his performance on the season.
Final Grade: B
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