Matt Martin might be retired, but he remembers playing with Mitch Marner on the Toronto Maple Leafs like it was yesterday.
The 36-year-old, now the special assistant to New York Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche, appeared on The Cam & Strick Podcast with Cam Janssen and Andy Strickland earlier this week and reminisced on playing with Marner in Toronto and his departure from the Maple Leafs.
Toronto moved Marner in a sign-and-trade with the Vegas Golden Knights , where the Maple Leafs acquired Nicolas Roy in return. The former Toronto forward signed an eight-year, $96 million contract before being traded to the Golden Knights .
"First of all, he's an exceptional player, probably in a discussion for one of the best in the league. Any given year, he's top three winger in the NHL, obviously [Nikita] Kucherov being pretty special as well. But he does it all; power play, penalty kill. I mean, they had him playing defense when they were down (players) in games a few years ago," Martin said .
"I think Vegas is going to be a great situation for him. Just kind of a totally different market, really good team. He's kind of got that Vegas flair to him, too. But I know he loved the Leafs. He loved the Leafs, playing for the Leafs, and he really wanted to get the job done there. It didn't work out and that's the end of it now."
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Martin and Marner were teammates on the Maple Leafs for two seasons, from 2016 to 2018. Being more of a veteran in the NHL at the time, Martin took Marner under his wing , and the two players became great friends.
"I really don't think there's better personality off the ice. He's just a guy that, even at 18,19, he was a guy that just brought everybody together. Loved to spend time with the guys, loves to hang out." added Martin.
"Ultimately, I think he poured his heart into everything. I do believe that. I think he really wore it. He took a lot of criticism when they didn't get the job done. And with making that kind of money, all those guys are going to get extreme criticism for not getting the job done, that's part of it."
During the podcast, Martin admitted that his final season in Toronto was difficult because of the lack of playing time. He spoke with then-GM Lou Lamiorello about being traded, and while Lamiorello tried to move him in-season, there wasn't a good enough fit for the Maple Leafs.
Lamiorello would leave Toronto in 2018 and join the New York Islanders as the president of hockey operations. One of his first orders of business was to acquire Martin from Toronto in exchange for goaltender Eamon McAdam , who wouldn't play a game for the Maple Leafs.
"Most of the guys I was playing with (on the Islanders before joining the Maple Leafs) were still here and it felt like home and it felt right," said Martin.
"It was a great situation to come back into. It's not often you get that opportunity to go back to where you came from, so I'm extremely fortunate for that and grateful for that because who knows what would've happened if that trade didn't transpire."
Amid Martin's situation, former Islanders captain John Tavares was figuring out where he'd land in free agency. Two days before Martin was traded, Tavares signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with Toronto, ending his tenure with the Islanders, who drafted him first overall in 2009.
Martin vividly remembers Tavares' return to Long Island . Toronto fell 6-1 to New York on February 28, 2019, in a building where the crowd was giving it to Tavares the entire night. It was an evening many won't forget , even if you weren't in the arena for that game.
Martin played in that game.
"That was a crazy, crazy game. I think it was a pretty incredible game to be a part of, and I'm not saying that to dig at Johnny. Listen, he did what he did, he wanted to go to Toronto, that's fine by me. Go play where you want to play. He's a friend of mine, I'm happy for him," Martin said.
"I don't know if we really feel that bad for one another when it comes to like a hockey environment. Like, to me, it was just a crazy, crazy game to be a part of. The energy in there was insane. I'l never forget that hockey game. They're throwing stuff at him, and some of that you can do without, but in terms of atmosphere, I loved playing in that game."
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Since joining the Maple Leafs in 2018, Tavares has scored 493 points (222 goals and 271 assists) in 515 games . The Maple Leafs named Tavares captain in 2019, after a year with the club. He served in the role for five years, passing it on to Auston Matthews in August 2024.
Tavares could've tested free agency on July 1st, however, instead, he signed a four-year, $17.55 million extension with the Maple Leafs on June 27. The annual average value of the veteran forward's contract is $4.39 million.
This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: 'I Think He Really Wore It': Matt Martin Reflects On Mitch Marner's Move To Golden Knights And His Two Seasons With Maple Leafs
(Top photo of Marner and Martin: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
