Hurricanes goalie Spencer Martin relishes another opportunity: ’I have more to prove’
Goalie Spencer Martin was picked up by the Carolina Hurricanes in time for the “Moms Trip” to Boston this week, and will have his mother along.
Karen Martin, who did some quick scheduling to make it, may also get to see her son make his first start for the Canes on Wednesday — against the Bruins at Boston’s TD Garden. How cool is that?
“And I also had a ‘Dads Trip’ this season,” Martin said Tuesday after a practice at Invisalign Arena.
Before being placed on NHL waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets and claimed by the Canes, Martin’s father, Allan, was able to get in on that excursion.
“Has anyone ever done both in a season?” Martin asked, smiling.
Joking aside, Martin could be in net Wednesday as the Canes look to bounce back from a 5-2 loss Sunday against the Minnesota Wild. Carolina then returns home for a game Thursday against the New Jersey Devils at PNC Arena.
The back-to-back set, as much as anything, probably necessitated the Hurricanes taking Martin on waivers last Friday. With Pyotr Kochetkov still in concussion protocol and Frederik Andersen out with a blood-clotting issue, the Canes had to call up rookie pro Yaniv Perets from the ECHL to back up Antti Raanta.
Kochetkov has been practicing with the team and Canes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Tuesday he looks “ready to go” but has some medical testing to complete. The Hurricanes host the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, their last game before a break that ends after the NHL All-Star Game in Toronto.
Will Martin face the Bruins?
Brind’Amour said Martin, who has 51 games of NHL experience, “possibly” could start against the Bruins, which is almost a “yes” in Brind’Amour’s coaching vernacular. But until they take the ice …
Martin, 28, has not played since Jan. 2, when he took the loss as the Blue Jackets were beaten 4-1 by the Bruins at home. He faced 27 shots in his 13th appearance and 10th start of the season.
And that Blue Jackets dads trip in early December? Martin started at Boston as Columbus lost, 3-2.
In an interesting twist, he may now be getting another shot against the Bruins — with his mom watching — with his new team.
“The goalie is probably the easiest to come in fresh and new and just fit in,” Brind’Amour said. “You’ve just got to stop the puck, right? The system and all that, the players have to understand a lot more than goalies. They’ve got one job for the most part.”
That’s what Martin hopes to do well enough. He realizes the situation with Carolina, that Kochetkov will soon return. But there’s a need for now and he wants to fill that need.
“They say I’m wanted here and I’m going to get some games here, and we’ll go from there,” Martin said. “It’s a business where you have to perform. If you’re on a longer term contract or something like that, it might be a different situation, but for me my career has been all about proving yourself every day.”
‘I felt a hundred percent’
Martin has played for Colorado, Vancouver and Columbus since making his NHL debut with the Avalanche in the 2016-17 season. He laughed Tuesday when saying he believes he was with 11 different teams in the past nine years, including time in the AHL and ECHL, before coming to Carolina.
It should help that Martin has known Canes goaltending coach Paul Schonfelder for a few years. He said Schonfelder was coaching in Ottawa when Martin was in junior hockey in Ottawa, and is familiar with his game.
“It’s a really nice way to start for us, having everything clear when he’s explaining things,” Martin said.
Martin, who has an easygoing demeanor, said it has been an “adrenaline rush” coming to a team that could be a Stanley Cup contender. He said he spent Monday, an off-day for most of the Canes, working with Schonfelder, continuing to prepare.
“Today I felt a hundred percent,” Martin said. “I’m ready to go. I feel like I have more to prove and I’m ready to do that here.”
Of note: Svechnikov stays home
Brind’Amour said injured forward Andrei Svechnikov would not make the trip to Boston but was “hopeful” Svechnikov could play before the break.
Svechnikov, who missed the Wild game, skated Tuesday before the team practice. Brind’Amour called the injury “nothing major.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2024 at 3:39 PM.
