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4 gritty depth signings that would fill a sizeable void on the Rangers

By Andrew Steele-Davis

Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders takes the ice prior to Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders takes the ice prior to Game Six of the Eastern Conference Final. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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1. Matt Martin, LW

This one has been mentioned on social media and it could be a perfect pickup for the Rangers, while rubbing it in the faces of arch-rivals the New York Islanders.

Matt Martin is one of the most intimidating bottom-line grinders in the National Hockey League, and he would tick a lot of boxes for the Rangers in terms of grit and toughness.

The human wrecking ball is only 31-years-old which is surprising given that it seems he has been in the league forever, but he still has something left in the tank and would immediately toughen up this roster.

Boasting nearly 3,000 hits in his career, Martin has racked up over 200 hits in each of his last two seasons for the Islanders, including 242 in 2019-20.

Apart from Brendan Lemieux, the Rangers don’t really have a player who can dish out bone-crunching hits, get under the skin of the opponent and also drop the gloves in order to stick up for his teammates.

Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders.
Matt Martin #17 of the New York Islanders and Luke Schenn #2 of the Tampa Bay Lightning scuffle.(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Martin can do all of that and he would also be able to battle hard in the dirty areas while being able to clear out the front of the net in order to protect Igor Shesterkin or Alexandar Georgiev.

Also, Martin could become a useful penalty killer for the Rangers and would help to ease the loss of Jesper Fast who was elite on the PK.

And, while he wouldn’t have as much offensive upside as Fast, Martin is still capable of chipping in with offense as proven by his eight points (5 G, 3 A) for the Islanders in the 2019-20 regular season and six points (5 G, 1 A) in 22 postseason games.

The Rangers would probably be able to sign Martin to a one-year, $1.5 million cap hit and he would be a staple of that bottom-six group.

While not the flashiest or sexiest of signings, Martin would give the Blueshirts something they currently don’t have and he could be an effective presence for a year or two.

His father-in-law is Boomer Esiason who is a huge Ranger fan if that makes a difference.

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