Islanders 21-22 report card: Matt Martin was...fine

Just looking at Matt Martin's production you could probably tell it wasn't a great year for the veteran New York Islanders winger. But, was there more to Matt Martin's game this year that isn't captured on the production sheet?

This is a continuation of the player-level report cards that we started this offseason. You can read the other ones here:
-Josh Bailey
-Mathew Barzal
-Anthony Beauvillier
-Kieffer Bellows
-Casey Cizikas
-Cal Clutterbuck
-Anders Lee
-Brock Nelson
-New York Islanders (Team Level Report Card)

New York Islanders 21-22 report card: Matt Martin

Offense: F
Seven points in 71 games is low. Even for Matt Martin. Just last year, he had eleven in 54. I know that Matt Martin isn't on the team for his offensive abilities. But he has to justify his spot on the roster with some offense. And while his seven points in 71 games are literally "some offense" it's not enough.

An effective Matt Martin is putting up about 15 points on the year. He was on pace for half of that this year. That's why it's an F for Matty. Half the offensive output for a player who isn't already lighting the lamp is tough.

Defense: A+
Outside of Leo Komarov and his one game of the year, no Islander forward has a better 5on5 relative xGA-per-60 than Matt Martin's -0.64. Matt's defensive was the strongest on the squad this year. Which is a testament to why he's on the squad even if he's not poppin' in the offense. He still provides value outside of his battering-ram style.

And look, at this point during these report cards you might be thinking: "sounds like the bottom-six guys just do better here maybe top guys just don't do well no matter what". I know I caught myself thinking this too. But when I look around the league, top players have no problem either leading their team in relative 5on5 xGA/60 or at least being in the top half. Matthews leads the Leafs. Landeskog is 5th for the Avs. Kaprizov is top-half for Minni. Offense first guys can still do well when looking at this stat.

Impact vs. Reliance: C+
Martin finished a predictable 15th of 18 forwards in terms of average ice time (in all situations). Only Czarnik, Komarov, Koivula, Johnston, and Andreoff (in that order) averaged less TOI per game than Martin. Most of those guys were extras, tossed into the roster to make it a full 20.

In terms of impact, Martin was 14th for forwards. Martin provided the impact his deployment required of him. And look let's not forget what Matt Martin brings to the table. He's shouldn't be at the top of the "impact" table. His booming style of play doesn't translate into a top game score. Average results yield an average grade.

Final Result: C
A C is a fine result for Martin. It clearly wasn't a banner year for him (was it for any Islander this year?), so a C grade fits what Martin brought to the table.