ISLANDERS SIGN VETERAN LEFT WINGER TO PTO
The Islanders are bringing back a familiar face, according to general manager Lou Lamoriello, who told reporters Friday 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, $6M 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 to the latter half of that statement, though, confirming Friday that 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 2024-2025.
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 2010-2011 season.
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