Martin’s significance transcends numbers
Fourth-liner’s tough-guy persona, leadership skills lift Maple Leafs
Turn the other way, hockey pacifists, because one of the brightest young stars in the NHL has words that might make you cringe.
Yes, Auston Matthews may be the Centennial Classic hero, the NHL’s player of the week and an emerging face of the new generation of skill and speed in the sport.
You might be surprised, however, to learn where the Leafs rookie found some added motivation for a third-period goal and the overtime winner in Sunday’s 5-4 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings at BMO Field.
In the celebration that followed his game winner — his 20th goal of the season and second of the game — Matthews grabbed fourth-line winger Matt Martin and told him what his third-period scrap with Detroit’s Steve Ott meant to him.
“It’s pretty impressive that right after he scored that goal to get in the huddle where he kind of grabbed me and said ‘you pumped me up,’ ’’ Martin said following his team’s practice on Monday. “For the guy who scored the winning goal in overtime in an outdoor game to say something like that is pretty special.”
In his first season with the Leafs, Martin is one of the under appreciated positive elements on the team, which heads out on the road yet again for a pair of games, Tuesday in Washington and Friday in New Jersey.
An odd target of criticism from those who expected the former Islander to be a 20-goal scorer or something, Martin has been an important figure on and off the ice, even if his playing time and point production is minimal.
On it, the occasional fight has taken care of the old-school requirements, particularly on a team stacked with eight rookies most nights. Roll your eyes at the assignment if you want, but at least the Leafs aren’t getting pushed around like they were last season.
On the ice, Martin has tried to both set an example and be a mentor to the younger players, in particular Mitch Marner and Matthews. “He’s an important guy,” said Leafs coach Mike Babcock, who isn’t a fight promoter but a realist of the game’s demands. “He’s real good with our young guys. He trains right. And we don’t get pushed around, ever. We don’t get slapped like we did all the time last year. He’s doing a good job for us.”
There will be those who scoff at Martin’s significance based on the six minutes and 57 seconds he logged on Sunday, the only player in the game in single digits. But when the scrap took place at 3:25 of the third period and the score tied at 1-1, the 40,000-plus at BMO Field didn’t get out of their seats in unison because their rumps were cold.
The young Leafs fed off that energy in the stadium and nine minutes later had a 4-1 lead.
“I think that definitely sparked us, that fight,” Matthews said. “He’s a guy you love on your team. He’s a real leader … definitely that was the turning point for us.”
Off the ice, Martin has been an important influence as well. He has made a point of spending time with younger players, particularly Marner. “(Marner) has grown like a little brother to me,” Martin said. “I think of him as family and he’s a great kid. All these guys ... when you come to a team, it’s important that you grow together and have that family bond. It compels you to be a better team and when you care for each other on a personal level, you care for each other even more on the ice.”
Martin jokes that the only reason he goes to movies with Marner is because “he needs help to get in.”