Matt Martin was honored in what was likely his final home game with the NY Islanders

Though he is Canadian by birth, few people epitomize what it means to be a Long Islander quite like Matt Martin.

Drafted by the NY Islanders in the fifth round in 2008, Martin made himself part of the Long Island community from day one. From marrying Sydney Esiason, the daughter of one of Long Island's greatest athletes, Boomer Esiason, to playing over 800 games with the Islanders, Martin was deserving of the send-off he received tonight.

Matt Martin honored on Long Island

Before the puck even dropped, Kyle Palmieri offered up his 'A' to Martin, which he wore for the second time in his career.

Patrick Roy did his part to allow the Islanders faithful to chant "Matty Martin," as often as possible, putting Martin on the ice to start the game, and even giving him time on the power play in the third period.

In a touch of class from the Islanders, the organization announced Martin as the team's nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.

After announcing Martin as the nominee, a video tribute played on the jumbotron of all of Martin's accomplishments over his 14 seasons as an Islander.

Over the last few years, we've seen players from opposing teams staying on the ice to shake the hand of a player who has had a significant career following one of his final games. It's been done with Marc-Andre Fleury this season, as was done for Zdeno Chara after his final game in 2022.

Martin has been a career fourth liner, but tonight exemplified the respect players around the league have for him, as Tom Wilson was the first to shake Martin's hand after the game, followed by Anthony Beauvillier and the rest of the Washington Capitals.

Martin will go down as one of the most beloved Islanders of all time. He'll have one more opportunity to pull on an Islanders sweater on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but it wouldn't be a shock to see him remain around the organization when finished playing. He'll likely even be deployed to try and recruit Mitch Marner to Long Island in the off-season. What a sending-off gift that would be!