Toronto Maple Leafs: Let’s Have a Talk About Matt Martin

Last night, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Washington Capitals in what can only be described in the most generous of terms as a “hockey game”.

It’s funny how this fanbase works sometimes.

Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Nicklas Backstrom and Jakub Vrana were the Capitals’ who found the back of the net on Saturday night. Each player could be categorized as a highly skilled and offensively dynamic weapon (Vrana to a lesser extent).

But, instead of focusing on the players who tangibly impacted the game’s outcome, Twitter took a different approach.

As the dust settled, all they seemed primarily focused upon was why Matt Martin wasn’t in Toronto’s lineup to UFC tackle the human diaper caddy known as Tom Wilson.

Believe me, I even caught flack for my opinion on the whole ordeal from my own employer.

This makes precisely zero sense and works to highlight a fundamental flaw in the way we watch hockey. So, in order for all of us to start living happier, healthier lives, we need to iron some things out.

Let’s talk about Matt Martin.

Usage

Here’s the thing about icing a lineup featuring a so-called “sheriff”. Said sheriff is commonly used in a depth role, primarily on the fourth line.

I guess the Caps didn’t get that memo. Because, for a reason unbeknownst to the greater hockey world, Wilson now finds himself on Washington’s top line with Backstrom and Ovechkin.

Were Martin to actually be in a position to impart some old school hockey justice on Wilson, Babcock would have to choose to throw him out against Ovechkin and Backstrom.

It doesn’t matter how high you are on Martin, there’s no way that ends even remotely well.

Now, the central catalyst behind this groundswell of Martin support is Wilson’s thunderous hit on the newly-acquired turtleneck pioneer Tomas Plekanec, pictured below.

Take a look at where exactly the rest of the players on the ice are as the hit occurs.

That’s right, they’re way up ice, focused on actually playing the sport of hockey. While there’s certainly value in finishing your checks, the most effective hits are thrown to separate the opponent from the puck. And that’s not what happened here.

Wilson is now behind the play and faced with two choices.

He can either try and catch up, entering the backcheck far too late to prevent a scoring chance, or he can make an ill-advised line change. Both options aren’t exactly ideal.

There’s no denying  Wilson threw a big, dare I say crushing hit. But, in the grand scheme of the game, it had minimal overall impact.

You know who did have an impact, though? All of the extremely talented Capitals players who put pucks past Frederik Andersen. Each of whom would lick their chops in delight at the thought of Martin trying to defend them.

So, the Leafs could very well hinder their talented lineup with a player who logs precisely zero minutes on either special team while performing what is essentially one specific job. That’s their choice, and it’s their democratic right to do so.

They’d just be doing their opponents a big favour.

It’s Tom Wilson, guys. Come on.

Look, this isn’t meant to be an attack on Tom Wilson‘s character at all. I’ve actually met the guy, and by all accounts, he’s a perfectly pleasant individual.

I’ll just let this tweet sum up my thoughts instead.

Wilson’s career high in points is 29. His career high in goals is 11. To put that in perspective, Zach Hyman has already bested both those totals in just 67 games this year. Do you think Toronto’s opponents’ specifically construct their lineups to deal with Hyman?

In the immortal words of Randy Jackson, “it’s gonna be a no from me, dawg”. 

Icing Martin means one of Leo Komarov or Kasperi Kapanen needs to sit. And you better believe Mike Babcock would rather give up angry gum chewing for lent than scratch his precious son Leo.

So, the Leafs would be forced to scratch the 21-year-old who’s not only their organization’s faster player, but one of their most effective and vital penalty killing weapons as well.

All to neutralize a guy whose career high in points doesn’t even top Ron Hainsey‘s.

This isn’t to say that Martin is a bad player. In fact, I’m sure he could adequately slot into the lineup of about 15 NHL teams. Just not on this one.

Rather than deplete the depth of an elite forward group just to deal with a largely irrelevant opponent, maybe focus on the offensive superstars whose success will likely dictate the outcome of the game.

All these years, I thought the famous quote was “you play to win the game”. Not “you play to watch two grown men tussle on ice for 30 seconds max of a 60-minute game”

I dunno, I could be wrong.

Next: Marlies Notebook: Baun to the Next One

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