Canucks goaltender Spencer Martin has been claimed off waivers
Spencer Martin’s time with the Vancouver Canucks has come to an end.
After being placed on waivers Thursday afternoon, the Columbus Blue Jackets chose to claim him on Friday morning. The 28-year-old appeared in 29 games for the Canucks last season, recording a 3.99 goals against average (GAA) along with a .879 save percentage (SV%) and a 11-15-1 record.
The writing was on the wall for Martin in regards to his time with the Canucks, as management recently chose to acquire goaltender Casey DeSmith from the Montreal Canadiens to back up Thatcher Demko. They tried to find a trading partner for the 28-year-old goaltender, but were forced to put him on waivers after not being able to get anything done. Martin has one season remaining on his contract which carries a cap hit of $762,500.
This is likely nothing more than a depth pickup for the Blue Jackets, as they have two goaltenders under NHL contracts for the next several years in Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov. That said, Merzlikins really struggled last season with a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV% in 30 games. Meanwhile, Tarasov only has 21 games of NHL experience. If either is to struggle early on, Martin may get an opportunity to show what he can do.
Throughout his professional career, Martin has shown that he is a very capable goaltender at the AHL level. This past season, he suited up for 16 games with the Abbotsford Canucks, where he recorded a 2.43 GAA and a .916 SV%. He was put in a difficult spot last season, as the Canucks defence really struggled to help their goaltenders out, to the point where even Demko had an off year with just a .901 SV% in 32 appearances. If Martin is given a chance and the Blue Jackets are able to support him better than the Canucks did, he may very well prove that he is an NHL calibre goaltender.
More to come…
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