{"id":3142,"date":"2016-11-06T19:22:44","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T00:22:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=3142"},"modified":"2016-11-06T19:22:44","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T00:22:44","slug":"3142","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2016\/11\/06\/3142\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Martin’s Purpose Coming Into Question"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark your calendars for December 3rd<\/sup>, because that will be when the Toronto Maple Leafs <\/strong>and the Vancouver Canucks <\/strong>are scheduled to face off again. Saturday night\u2019s contest was certainly an entertaining one, with 171 penalty minutes being given out between both teams. Now there are a lot of story lines coming out of the game: both Vancouver and Toronto continue their losing and winning streaks respectively, Mitch Marner<\/strong> and Auston Matthews<\/a> <\/strong>were caught on camera singing along to Bon Jovi<\/a>, and not to mention the questionable hits and decision making from both team\u2019s players.\u00a0One takeaway that should be brought up calls\u00a0Matt Martin<\/a><\/strong>‘s purpose in question as a Maple Leaf.<\/p>\n

Matt Martin’s Purpose Coming Into Question<\/h1>\n

When Martin signed his $10 million contract that lasts four years with Toronto, it came to a surprise coming from Toronto\u2019s management who had seemed to move past the \u201ctruculence\u201d years and focused more on skill. Martin, who has lead the league in hits in each season since 2010-11, was brought into Toronto to give the rookies some breathing room to play, at least that was the reasoning behind the signing<\/a>. So far the 27-year old is keeping his hitting consistent. But for someone whose job is protect rookies, including the rookies who lead the team in points<\/a>, the actions that took place Saturday evening has a recipe for disaster written all over it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s safe to say that Canucks players aren\u2019t a fan of Martin after he went after rookie Troy Stecher<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/HockeyAbbs\/status\/795083843795648512<\/p>\n

There could have been several possible reasons why Martin went after Stecher, who weighs roughly 20 pounds less than the heavyweight veteran. Morgan Rielly<\/a><\/strong> and Alex Burrows <\/strong>dropped the gloves after going back and forth all night.\u00a0Nazem Kadri<\/a><\/strong>‘s grueling hit on\u00a0Daniel Sedin<\/a> <\/strong>stirred controversy<\/a> around the league.\u00a0Martin could have been simply sending a message to Vancouver. However, roughing up a rookie the way Martin did is not the brightest way to make a point\u00a0to the other team. There\u2019s a strong possibility that there\u2019s a target on the back of Toronto\u2019s rookies now. With all due respect to Stecher, the rookies on Toronto\u2019s roster are more relied upon. Arguably the most valuable Maple Leafs players are at risk come the 3rd<\/sup> of December. The anticipated retaliation will partly be the fault of Martin\u2019s decision making.<\/p>\n

Rookie Safety<\/h3>\n

If Martin\u2019s main purpose on the team is for his protection and nothing productive, then he\u2019s at risk of failing his job miserably. William Nylander<\/a> <\/strong>suffered a concussion in last year\u2019s World Junior Championship<\/strong>.\u00a0Mitch Marner<\/strong>\u2019s smaller frame could still be exposed from time to time. It may be too soon to tell if anything will occur, but it\u2019s not crazy to think of the next game between Vancouver and Toronto getting out of hand like the one on display on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Standing up for your team is one thing, but putting your players at risk is not worth making a point. Martin may be worth more if he his offensive ability was any better. However the Maple Leafs are better off filling their roster with players who do more than \u201cprotect\u201d their team.<\/p>\n

Main Photo:<\/p>\n

\n
Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n