Yesterday was the first day of the 2018-19 waiver period and several teams put up players, but only one was claimed so far. Danick Martel is now a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning after the Philadelphia Flyers tried to send him down after being cut from training camp.
Martel was an undrafted player from the QMJHL who signed an entry level contract with the Flyers after three years with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada (that sounds familiar…) and after three seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL (and four NHL games with the Flyers), he’s now a member of the Lightning organization.
He’s had a good AHL run so far, racking up 120 points in 199 games in the AHL. SBN Flyers site Broadstreet Hockey ranked him #23 in their 2018 Top 25:
Martel had a pretty remarkable 2017-18 season. After he compiled 14 goals in the first 14 games of the season, the diminutive forward earned a promotion to the Orange and Black to help the big club attempt to snap a five-game losing streak after a lackluster home loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The transaction didn’t help to stop the skid, as Martel, who failed to record a point and posted six shots on goal, took part in three overtime losses during his brief four-game stint with the team. He played on a line with Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds, which resulted in one goal for and two goals against along with a 42.11 Corsi For percentage in 34:37 of 5-on-5 ice time. The trio were a little unlucky, as they did post an impressive 61.71 expected goals for percentage, but had a 95.0 PDO.
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Professional stats
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | TP | PIM | Playoffs | GP | G | A | TP | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-2015 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||||
| 2015-2016 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 67 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 68 | ||||||
| 2016-2017 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 68 | 20 | 20 | 40 | 67 | Playoffs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2017-2018 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| 2017-2018 | Lehigh Valley Phantoms | AHL | 59 | 25 | 15 | 40 | 50 | Playoffs | 13 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 22 |
This is a tricky pick up, as the Lightning will have to send him back down at the end of camp if they want him in Syracuse. There’s no reason for the Flyers to not claim him back either. He will be an interesting player to watch on and off the ice, and for the next few weeks at least, he’s ours.
