This piece will be another in my series of player profiles, where I’ll give some thoughts on the performance of a member of the New York Islanders this season. This article will focus on Matt Martin.
Coming off a fairly strong year in 2018-19, where he and the fourth line were difference-makers for the Islanders, this wasn’t an ideal season for Martin. After a rough start to the year, he was scratched and his ice time ended up being reduced by a minute per game from last season.
He averaged just five goals and eight points in 55 games and that was with a 10.2 shooting percentage, which is the second-highest of his career. He also had just a 43.9 corsi for percentage, which was his lowest in the last nine years and while his role isn’t to produce, he really wasn’t able to accomplish a lot with the fourth line.
I’ve said this in a few articles now but I don’t think Martin is back with the Islanders next year. This season, he wasn’t nearly as effective on the fourth line and though he wasn’t playing with his regular linemates in Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck for much of the year, this is an opportunity for New York to start transitioning to a younger group and I don't think Martin is part of the equation.
Martin isn’t able to penalty kill, which can be an asset for players in the bottom-six and wasn't effective enough at even strength to warrant being brought back next season. While he and the “identity line” may have been important to the team last season, his role with the Islanders seems to have run its course.
Here’s today’s poll question (results and discussion will be posted on Saturday):
Would you like to see Matt Martin brought back next season?
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