Technically, there is still a slight chance.
Maybe Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck won’t be under contract in a few weeks. Lou Lamoriello will decide these two are worth signing to pro tryout contracts (PTOs). They’ll remind everyone of their worth in training camp. They’ll get selected. They might stay with the Islanders for another year.
But that’s almost certainly an illusion.
When Lamoriello said in a conversation with The Washington Post last week that the Islanders would “probably let go” of the two players who had played a combined 1,541 games over 24 seasons in the blue and orange, he was actually just publicly acknowledging what’s been obvious for months.
The Islanders needed to move on from their old core team for symbolic reasons as much as any other, and there have been no better talismans in Islanders hockey over the past decade than Martin and Clutterbuck, who make up two-thirds of the identity line and are both over 35 and on expiring contracts.
It’s hard to argue with this move for a variety of reasons, but that doesn’t discount what these two brought to the franchise.
Even when the Identity Line was performing at their best, it’s fair to say every Islanders team had better players than them.
But of the 14 consecutive seasons since Martin made his full-time Isles debut in 2010-11, which has seen at least one player on the team, no player embodied the culture and grit the Isles aspire to be more than Martin.
“They were some of the first guys to speak to me or send me a message the first day I got here,” JG Paget said on his farewell day. “Their voices are big in this locker room. Anytime they speak, you have to listen to them. Smart. I have nothing but good things to say about them, not just their work ethic but just being true professionals on the ice and in the room and being great teammates.”
“I feel like I’ve turned to those two at times for advice or help, whether it’s on the ice or off the ice. They’ve been like big brothers to me ever since I’ve been here,” Mat Barzal said. “Marty and Clutter are big players on this team and in the locker room. They’ve been so helpful, especially to me.”
“Those are two of the guys that if you asked me which older players have been the nicest to me since I joined the team at 19 years old, I’d say those are the two guys right away,” Noah Dobson said. “They treat everybody with respect and make you feel like you’re a part of the team, even though they’re younger guys. They’ve been in the league a lot of years and played a lot of hockey. Two great leaders, and they’re obviously a big part of our locker room.”
Now, this isn’t to overlook what both of them accomplished as hockey players.
During Barry Trotz’s prime, the trio of Martin, Casey Cizikas and Clutterbuck had expected goals percentages of 55.3, 58.7 and 53.6, respectively, according to MoneyPac. This was a fourth line, and arguably the best fourth line in hockey.
When opposing coaches talk about the Islanders being a tough team to play against, they’re talking about Clutterbuck and Martin, who rank No. 1 and No. 2 on the league’s all-time hits list. When the Islanders praise their culture, they’re talking about these two players.
“I think we all kind of know what they mean,” Brock Nelson said on the day of the farewell, “but to us, they’re just such rock-solid people. You go through life with them and you go through stuff with them. You get really close with them.”
It’s unlikely that Martin or Clutterbuck will be the first non-dynasty players to have his number on display in the stands at UBS Arena, but once Cizikas’ Isles career is over, the organization should consider honoring the three with an identity line banner modeled after the Sabres’ French Connection banner, which honors Rene Robert, Gilbert Perrault and Richard Martin.
The final word here, naturally, is number 53.
“It’s been awesome,” Cizikas, 33, said of playing with Martin and Clutterbuck. “That’s the best way to put it. I was a young kid on the line and they definitely molded me into the player we needed to be. They were always there. I have a lot of respect for them. It reflects in our friendship outside of the arena. We’ve been through a lot together. It’s definitely been a lot of fun.”
Call Kare
Lamoriello confirmed that 2022 second-round draft pick Calle Odelius will play in North America this season after spending the past two years with Djurgården IF in Sweden.
With the NHL’s top six all but set and Samuel Bolduc the overwhelming favorite to be the seventh defenseman, it’s unlikely Oderius (or Isaiah George, who is set to move from the OHL to the AHL) will make the Islanders’ roster.
Oderius played in just 10 games last season after suffering a broken ankle and spent extensive time in New York rehabbing.
Still, it’s something to watch this preseason and a reason to keep an eye on Bridgeport.
The New (Old) Man
Lamoriello said new assistant coach Tommy Alverin, a former Devils player and coach under Lamoriello, will take over for Doug Huda in charge of the defense and penalty kill.
“Tommy has a wealth of experience,” Lamoriello said, “certainly he played on two Cup teams, he’s coached in the American League, he’s coached internationally and he’s led the Swiss program for the last few years. [team] I played in World Championships and the Olympics, and played under Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson, Jacques Laperriere and Pat Burns. I don’t think I’ve ever been coached better than Tommy.
“I know him well as an individual. Impeccable character. Outstanding hockey person.”
