The Blue Jackets claimed goaltender Spencer Martin off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks, the club confirmed Friday after Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was first to report the transaction.
Columbus claims Spencer Martin
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 29, 2023
Martin, a 28-year-old whom the Avalanche selected 63rd overall in the 2013 Draft, played 29 NHL games in 2022-23 with Vancouver, posting a record of 11-15-1 along with a 3.99 GAA and .871 SV%. In 38 career NHL appearances, he's registered a record of 14-17-5 with a 3.62 GAA and .885SV%.
According to capfriendly.com, Martin has one year left on his deal that carries a cap hit of $762,500. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 season.
The Oakville, Ontario, native played well in the AHL over the last two seasons, posting a .914SV% in 2021-22 and a .916SV% in 2022-23 for the Abbotsford Canucks. In 214 AHL appearances, he's recorded a 94-85-22 record with a 2.88 GAA and .905SV%.
Martin provides some goaltending depth for the Blue Jackets, who are currently dealing with a knee injury to Daniil Tarasov. The club also posted the league's fourth-worst team save percentage (.887) in 2022-23, according to naturalstattrick.com, and after Elvis Merzlikins' career-worst .876SV% in 2022-23, it's fair to say there are goaltending concerns in Columbus. Additionally, the team brought in Aaron Dell on a PTO and has Jet Greaves and Pavel Cajan as an AHL goalie, which adds up to six goalies with NHL or AHL experience on the roster.
Just a day after being placed on waivers, Martin has a new home.
| Spencer Martin Career Stats (via hockeydb.com) | RS Scoring | More -> | RS Goalie Stats | PO Scoring | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | A | PIM | Min | GA | EN | SO | GAA | W | L | T | Svs | Pct | GP | A | PIM | |
| 2011-12 | Mississauga St. Michael's Majors | OHL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 753 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 3.98 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 385 | 0.885 | - | - | - | |
| 2012-13 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 46 | 0 | 4 | 2504 | 126 | 7 | 0 | 3.02 | 17 | 21 | 4 | 1214 | 0.906 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013-14 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 64 | 1 | 14 | 3562 | 210 | 9 | 3 | 3.54 | 24 | 33 | 5 | 1863 | 0.899 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2014-15 | Mississauga Steelheads | OHL | 31 | 0 | 4 | 1713 | 85 | 2 | 1 | 2.98 | 15 | 13 | 1 | 990 | 0.921 | - | - | - | |
| 2015-16 | Fort Wayne Komets | ECHL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1113 | 60 | 2 | 2 | 3.23 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 432 | 0.878 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2015-16 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 18 | 2 | 2 | 905 | 40 | 2 | 3 | 2.65 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 465 | 0.921 | - | - | - | |
| 2016-17 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 50 | 1 | 4 | 2812 | 136 | 9 | 2 | 2.90 | 19 | 26 | 1 | 1284 | 0.904 | - | - | - | |
| 2016-17 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 181 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4.35 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 83 | 0.865 | - | - | - | |
| 2017-18 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 34 | 2 | 4 | 1856 | 96 | 5 | 1 | 3.10 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 800 | 0.893 | - | - | - | |
| 2018-19 | Colorado Eagles | AHL | 23 | 0 | 4 | 1305 | 74 | 1 | 3 | 3.40 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 678 | 0.902 | - | - | - | |
| 2019-20 | Orlando Solar Bears | ECHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 231 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 3.12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 130 | 0.915 | ||||
| 2019-20 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 33 | 0 | 2 | 1742 | 87 | 5 | 0 | 3.00 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 754 | 0.897 | ||||
| 2020-21 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 15 | 0 | 8 | 847 | 40 | 1 | 0 | 2.83 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 392 | 0.907 | - | - | - | |
| 2021-22 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1506 | 61 | 4 | 3 | 2.43 | 19 | 4 | 2 | 651 | 0.914 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2021-22 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 378 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.74 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 207 | 0.950 | - | - | - | |
| 2022-23 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1610 | 107 | 0 | 0 | 3.99 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 723 | 0.871 | - | - | - | |
| 2022-23 | Abbotsford Canucks | AHL | 16 | 0 | 2 | 962 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 2.43 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 423 | 0.916 | 4 | 0 | 2 | |
| NHL Totals | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.62 | 14 | 17 | 5 | 0.885 | ||||||||||
