Spencer Martin on waivers after Canucks reportedly tried to trade him
Spencer Martin’s time with the Vancouver Canucks could soon be coming to an end.
Martin is on waivers today, meaning that he could get scooped up by another team for free. Today is the first day of the season that NHL teams can place players on waivers.
If Martin goes unclaimed, he’ll report to the Abbotsford Canucks of the AHL.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have placed G Spencer Martin on waivers for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford (AHL).
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) September 28, 2023
The 28-year-old goaltender appeared to be on the trade block recently, with Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reporting that there have been “trade discussions” about him in the last week.
Today is the first day of waiver activity for the 2023-24 NHL season. One of the names expected to be on there — if there isn't a deal first — is VCR's Spencer Martin. There have been some trade discussions over the past week.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) September 28, 2023
The acquisition of Casey DeSmith makes Martin expendable for the Canucks, who also have Arturs Silovs, Zach Sawchenko, and Nikita Tolopilo behind Thatcher Demko on the organization’s depth chart. Silovs is their prized prospect, while Sawchenko and Tolopilo are new free-agent acquisitions.
It was notable to some that Martin didn’t participate in the team’s training camp scrimmage last weekend in Victoria, and he hasn’t played in either one of Vancouver’s preseason games thus far.
Martin is on a one-way contract, meaning he’ll make $775,000 this season whether he plays in the NHL or AHL. But his cap hit is affordable, at just $762,500, which can be completely buried if he gets sent to the minors.
The shine came off Martin rather quickly last season, after earning at least a point in all six of his starts in 2021-22, with a 3-0-3 record and .950 save percentage.
The wins kept coming early last season, until Demko got hurt.
Martin was 6-2-1 with a .900 save percentage as the backup until December 1, when Demko went down with an injury. He went 5-13-0 with a .854 save percentage after that, before being sent to the AHL.
Friedman named the Colorado Avalanche as a potential destination for Martin last week on the 32 Thoughts podcast, and perhaps that’s a fit. Martin was drafted by the Avs in the third round of the 2013 draft and appeared in three games for Colorado during the 2016-17 season. Martin left the organization in 2019.
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