New York Islanders officially bring back veteran forward on one-year deal

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Tom Banks
October 26, 2024 (3:18 PM)

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The New York Islanders are pushing for a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024/25, and now they've brought back veteran Matt Martin to help with that.

The New York Islanders are off to a solid start this season, posting a 3-2-2 record through seven games, but it appears the team still has some building to do if they want to become a genuine Stanley Cup threat. Now they've brought back an intriguing veteran in Matt Martin, with the team reportedly signing the 35-year old to a one-year deal, continuing his impressive tenure on Long Island.

After drawing some interest in free agency, it appears that the Islanders are the team Martin wanted to be with, as he has spent all but two of his 15 NHL seasons with the Islanders, with the Toronto Maple being his home in those two years. During that tenure, Martin has played in an impressive 955 games, tallying 81 goals and 176 points, with the 1,158 penalty minutes being a more accurate representation of his career.

While the physical style that Martin employs isn't as important in today's NHL, having that type of muscle is certainly going to be helpful, and after the team placed Anthony Duclair on Injured Reserve, it made sense to bring back a veteran for depth.

It's unclear yet when Martin will be ready to go and in game shape for the Islanders, but after playing in 57 games a season ago, it's safe to say that even with so much wear and tear on his body, he's still got plenty of gas left in the tank. With just 45 games away from 1,000 in his career, Martin will try to get into as many games as possible this season, but with the Islanders having great depth once Duclair returns, we will wait and see how this season shakes out for the former fifth-round draft pick.