When the New York Rangers signed goaltender Spencer Martin in November, he was expected to be nothing more than a depth move. When you have guys like Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick ahead of you, it is very hard to move up the depth chart. But with Shesterkin going down due to injury, Martin was given an opportunity to prove himself. But how did Martin perform, and did he do anything to change the perception of him around the league?
Expectations for 2025-26
As mentioned earlier, no one expected to see Martin this season. He was not even in the organization at the start of the season. He was overseas playing for CSKA Moscow of the KHL. In 14 games with them, he had a 2.69 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. While the sample size was limited and the KHL is not as talented as the NHL, these are solid numbers. It showed that Martin could be useful for an NHL organization.
So when the Rangers signed him, it was a nice insurance policy. They were bringing in an NHL-experienced player who could step in if things went wrong. It's also someone who could mentor goaltending prospect Dylan Garand. He can help Garand improve his game and show him what it takes to be a goalie at the next level.
Performance
After one start in Hartford, the Rangers called up Martin to replace the injured Quick on November 30th. While some were upset that Garand was not being given a true shot, the Rangers wanted to have a veteran presence behind Shesterkin. But he did not make a start for the team, as just a week later, Quick returned, and Martin went back down to Hartford. He would spend the rest of 2025 in Hartford and the start of 2026.
But Martin returned to the Blueshirts at the end of January and made his Rangers debut on January 11th against the Bruins, coming in for relief. He made another relief appearance before making his first start on January 17th on the road in Philadelphia. In a dominant Rangers game. Martin stood tall, stopping 25 of the 28 shots he faced. He made three more starts for the Rangers, all of which resulted in Rangers losses. He returned to the Wolf Pack at the beginning of February, where he spent the rest of the season.
He finished the season with a 4.13 goals against average and a .864 save percentage in six games for the Rangers. While these numbers do not look great, he did average around 26 saves per start. Not bad for a backup goaltender. His stat line was not much better with the Wolf Packs. In 22 games, he had a 3.51 goals against average and a .873 save percentage. These numbers are very similar to what he was able to do in his short NHL sample.
Grade: D+
Where do they go from here?
With Martin signing a two-year deal, he should be competing for the backup goaltending job next season. With the retirement of Quick, the Rangers will have an opening for it. Unless they sign a free agent, he will be the only candidate with true NHL experience. His main competition will be Garand, who made his NHL debut this season and only has three career games under his belt. We have seen in the past that the Rangers prefer a backup with some experience.
There are really only two options for Martin next season. It's either he wins the backup goalie job and sits behind Shesterkin for the majority of the season. But if he loses the job to Garand or another veteran the Rangers bring in, he will be sent to Hartford. From there, he should see a decent number of starts, given he's an experienced goaltender. He can also act as a mentor for Callum Tung.
Add us as a preferred source on Google