It is very likely that Paul Martin returns to the Penguins lineup tonight and even if he doesn’t he is right on the cusp of doing so.
I think Paul Martin is a fabulous player and if you talk to other Penguins players like Josh Yohe did , they’ll tell you the same thing.
Just how good is Paul Martin? What will it mean to the Penguins if he leaves?
Here is how the Penguins have used him in year’s past:
This chart is based on quality of teammate and at the start of his Penguins tenure Dan Bylsma elected to play him with other good players (good idea). The next two years of Martin’s Pittsburgh career saw him shackled to Brooks Orpik in a shutdown role and playing with other lesser teammates (bad idea).
Martin is a sound defender who is a facilitator. He gets the puck to players quickly and with speed. This is key when you are a skilled forward. We all know how important controlled zone exits and entries are and what they mean to generating offense and preventing goals. Sidney Crosby appreciates what Martin can do (from Yohe’s piece above)
Center Sidney Crosby said playing with Martin makes everyone better.“He helps all over the ice,… Crosby said. “He gets you the puck so quickly. He's so good in all three zones. It will be nice to have him back.…
Pass when you can not when you have to is something I try to teach younger players, it certainly applies in the NHL as well.
Taking Paul Martin away from other skilled players seems like a waste. It doesn’t help the team as much if he is feeding a “grinder… on a controlled zone exit who is just going to dump the puck in anyways.
We can highlight what a crumby idea the Martin/Orpik experiment was:
There is a pretty strong argument the Penguins got rid of the wrong “defensive… defenseman after the 2011-12 season. It should have been Orpik out the door with Michalek staying, but grit and intangibles ruled the day.
The previous four years when Martin plays away from his partner he gets better and his partner gets worse. This season is a little bit of a change of pace. Martin gets worse away from Letang and Letang gets better away from Martin. Is this a sign of Martin slowing down?
Not necessarily. I think it means that Letang is currently playing a little better with Martin’s slightly younger clone Christian Ehrhoff. This season’s data is also by far the smallest sample size, especially considering it is only half a year and Martin has been hurt. It will be something to check back in on as the season wears on.
Martin is also pretty great on the PK
Less weird stat: Since 2010, Paul Martin is 11th out of 97 dmen in shorthanded CA/60 (>450 min)
— Lyle Kossis (@LyleKossis) January 6, 2015
Since Paul Martin signed in 2010-11 here is the CA/60 for Penguins defensemen who have played 200 minutes in shorthanded situations
Some may refer to that as being a PK specialist but the fact of the matter is that Paul Martin is a hockey specialist. Shockingly, good players at even strength are also good players in man down situations as well.
Given the cornucopia of young capable defensemen the Penguins have there is high probability that Paul Martin will finish the year out with the Penguins and then sign with another team as an unrestricted free agent (my money is on the LA Kings).
Paul Martin was an excellent defenseman for a reasonable cap hit in his five years in Pittsburgh. A lot of what makes him great isn’t flashy and often overlooked but he is exactly the kind of player you want on your team.
I will always enjoy watching Paul Martin play even if it is not in Pittsburgh. Great player.
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Penguins play the Bruins tonight. I wrote some words about the Bruins choosing David Krejci over Tyler Seguin and now Milan Lucic is the player who makes the most sense to move for cap space. You can find that here
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