Matt Martin taking things day by day as NY Islanders roster decisions loom

Matt Martin went into New York Islanders training camp without a contract, without any promises, but with an expectation that when the timing was right, there would be an open dialogue between the player and the organization about his future.

That time is rapidly approaching.

Head Coach Patrick Roy has stated that the pre-season is over for those players who don't have a realistic shot at making the opening night roster, as the first round of cuts is expected to be made official ahead of Sunday's practice, which will see a reduced number of groups participating.

The Islanders have two pre-season games remaining: Monday versus the Philadelphia Flyers and then Friday at home against the New York Rangers at UBS Arena. These will be the last two chances for players like Oliver Wahlstrom, Liam Foudy, and Julien Gauthier to fight for the 13th forward position and the last opportunity for Grant Hutton and Dennis Cholowski to make the case for them to be the seventh defenseman over Samuel Bolduc.

So, where does that lead Martin? “I’m just taking it day by day," he said after Friday's game in Newsday." I imagine if they said they’re going to start making those decisions, I’ll meet with them at some point over the next day or so.”

While Walhlstrom showed off his shot in Friday's 5-1 pre-season win, and Foudy impressed with his speed and tenacious skating, Martin logged 12:55 of ice time while wearing the "A" and had regular Matt Martin type of performance. It was the type of game he's played often throughout his career on Long Island, but it no longer may be enough.

While the professional tryout (PTO) Martin signed is designed to provide a veteran player a chance to participate in training camp and make an Opening Night roster, Martin's time around the team may not be over, even if he doesn't have an NHL contract by opening night. Unsigned free agents can also sign Free Agent Tryouts that do not have a deadline. The team pays the player's expenses for ten days. After that, a player can continue, but at their own expense. Jesse Puljujarvi did this with the Pittsburgh Penguins last December.

Could that be an option for Martin? “Listen, I think all things are worth consideration,” Martin said. For me, I’ve had a pretty open communication line with the staff here over the years and I’m sure we’ll continue to have that. We’ll see what happens here in the next little while.”

The end of his Islanders' and potentially NHL career could be approaching. It was always going to be an uphill, if not insurmountable one for Martin to make the team out of training camp. Soon, he may have to decide whether it's time to completely move on or keep hope alive that he hasn't played his final regular season game in an Islanders' sweater.