Longtime Islanders enforcer Matt Martin has announced his retirement, per a club announcement Tuesday. He’ll join the club’s front office as a special assistant to general manager Mathieu Darche.
A fifth-round pick by the Isles as an overager in 2008, Martin rose up the ranks quicker than expected for his draft slot and made his NHL debut in February 2010 amid his first professional season. He became a fourth-line fixture in his second season and maintained that role through the 2015-16 campaign, eventually forming one of the most recognizable checking lines of the decade with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck. While never a huge scorer, he did have 10 goals in the final season of his first stint on Long Island and averaged a remarkable 379 hits per 82 games over his first seven NHL seasons.
More to come…