The New York Islanders have invited a familiar face to training camp as the team announced they’ve signed veteran forward Matt Martin to a professional tryout agreement (PTO).

Martin, 35, spent the past six seasons with the Islanders organization. In 2023-24, the Windsor, ON native appeared in 57 games for the Isles, scoring four times and finishing the regular season with eight points. Martin also landed an impressive 151 hits and dressed in three Stanley Cup Playoff games. The bruising winger will look to once again be a depth option for the fourth line on Long Island and bang-and-crash his way into an NHL contract.

Originally a 2008 fifth-round pick of the Islanders, Martin’s 15-year NHL career has included 13 years total in New York, divided by a brief two-year stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2016-2018. Martin would eventually reunite with GM Lou Lamoriello with the Islanders on a four-year, $6-million contract. Despite not being re-signed by the hockey club to an NHL contract throughout the offseason, Lamoriello sees enough in getting Martin into training camp to give the enforcer a chance to prove he can still be effective for his hockey club. Like many other teams across the league, the internal competition up front will be one of the many story lines for Islanders camp.

Heading into the 2024-25 season Martin is just 45 games away from hitting the illusive 1000-game mark. Throughout his 955 career games, he’s tallied 81 goals, 95 assists, 1158 penalty minutes and a whopping 3854 hits. Martin averaged just over nine minutes of ice-time per game last season for the Islanders and is hopeful there’s still an appetite for some protection.

As for the Islanders, Lamoriello is currently operating without any salary cap space and there would need to move a roster move or two to fit in Martin for this season. The Isles finished the 2023-24 campaign third in the Metropolitan Division, posting a 39-27-16 record.