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The Calgary Flames Should Stay Away From Matt Martin |
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Follow me on Twitter @ToddCordell
Every year players sign contracts in free agency that they'll never be able to live up to.
One of the prime candidates to do that this year is forward Matt Martin.
For years Martin has skated a regular shift on the New York Islanders 4th line which, for whatever reason, has been regarded as the best in hockey.
As such there are no shortage of interested parties; including the Calgary Flames.
Getting involved in a bidding war for any player rarely ends well. Getting involved in a bidding war for a 4th liner never ends well.
A key reason to stay away from Martin is his perceived value is much higher than his actual on-ice value.
Martin has scored more than eight goals once in his career. Martin has recorded more than 14 points once in his career. Generating offense clearly isn't his forte.
He must have very good underlying numbers to warrant this kind of interest then, right? No.
Over the last three seasons the Islanders have controlled 48.4% of the shot attempts at 5 v 5 with Martin on the ice. That ranks him 17th among 20 Islanders (minimum 1,500 minutes).
In that same span the Islanders have scored just 47.2% of the goals with Martin on the ice at 5 v 5. That puts him 16th among 20 skaters.
Considering Martin plays primarily against opposing team's worst players those numbers aren't exactly impressive.
I think the Flames would be smart to sit this one out and let another team overpay for a mediocre 4th liner.
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