Lost in the Avalanche: Spencer Martin

Besides Nathan MacKinnon, there is one other member of the Colorado Avalanche’s 2013 draft class still currently on a NHL roster, which may come as a surprise. The unfortunate season ending injury to New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin meant that Spencer Martin was recalled from the minors to serve as Dylan Garand’s backup until further notice. There are a couple other former Avalanche draft picks and prospects appearing in net around the league, namely Nashville’s Justus Annunen and Minnesota’s Calvin Pickard, but Martin’s connection to the Avalanche has likely long since faded from memory.

Drafted in the third round in 2013 at 63rd overall, Martin was considered somewhat a top prospect as an acquisition by the Avalanche organization. After finishing his junior career with the Mississauga Steelheads in the OHL, Martin began his Entry Level Contract with Colorado in 2015 and spent a total of four seasons in their minor league system. Appearances wee mostly with the affiliate San Antonio Rampage but also as a member the 2018-19 inaugural Colorado Eagles’ AHL season in which at one point Martin recorded an astonishing 68-save shutout. Highlights during his tenure also included an appearance at the AHL All-Star game in 2017 as well as three games with the Avalanche in that fateful 2016-17 season.

At the conclusion of the 2018-19 season the Avalanche chose not to extend Martin his qualifying offer which made him a free agent but he wasn’t on the market long as the Tampa Bay Lightning signed him to a one-year two-way NHL contract. He would earn two more one-year contracts with the club though the netminder would never make an appearance in the NHL with the Lightning.

Before that third contract started, Tampa Bay traded Martin to Vancouver in the summer of 2021 for future considerations but it was the move he needed to get back to the NHL. On January 21, 2022, exactly five years to the day after his NHL debut with Colorado, Martin received his first opportunity to start in Vancouver and then a week later earned his first NHL win making 33 saves in a 5-1 victory over Winnipeg. At the end of the 2021-22 season Vancouver gave Martin a two-year one-way contract extension worth $1.53 million and he started 27 games in the 2022-23 campaign with a 11-15-1 record.

In the second year of that contract, however, Martin found himself on the move again first getting claimed on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets at the start of the 2023-24 season where he started ten games and accumulated a 3-8-1 record. The Carolina Hurricanes subsequently claimed Martin in January of 2024 on waivers as well and he then started six games for them with a 4-1-1 record. The Hurricanes decided to keep Martin around for another year in the 2024-25 season signing him to a $775k contract as he then split the season between Carolina, accumulating another seven NHL games and a 3-4-1 record, and the rest of the time with their AHL affiliate in Chicago.

The fall of 2025 brought a new challenge as Martin decided to play overseas for the first time in his career and signed a contract with CSKA in the KHL. He enjoyed a hot start there and over 14 starts compiled a 5-6-2 record, two shutouts and a .905 save percentage with a 2.69 Goal Against Average. That caught the attention of the New York Rangers who signed Martin to a two-year one-way contract worth $1.625 million to finish out the rest of the 2025-26 season. He made four starts in January of 2026 with an 1-4-0 record and he is currently playing out the second year of that deal.

Now currently with the New York Rangers while the organization sorts their depth in net for the rest of the year, Martin made his first appearance this season in mop-up duty in a 7-1 defeat to New Jersey a couple nights ago. In that game Martin gave up three goals on 18 shots but didn’t take the loss. Should the Rangers make an acquisition or when veteran goaltender Joonas Korpisalo gets healthy, Martin then surely would go back to the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL but for now he has a place in the Big Apple under the bright lights.

It’s been a long career for Spencer Martin spanning six NHL organizations, numerous minor league stints and even a couple months in the KHL. It takes a lot to earn the reputation as an insurance option in net even if he never established himself as a true NHL goaltender with career statistics of a 25-33-8 record, .881 save percentage and 3.60 GAA. The 31-year-old has been a steady presence in the minors with a 117-106-34 record, .903 save percentage and 2.87 GAA in the AHL, which is likely why NHL organizations want him as goaltending depth in their system. The fact that an Avalanche draftee is making NHL appearances 13 years later is worth spotlighting and all the best to Martin whether or not he is called upon for the Rangers this season.