RALEIGH, N.C. – Matt Martin didn't see it coming.
He had played 542 NHL games without ever being removed from the lineup when healthy. He had dressed for 110 of 111 since joining the Toronto Maple Leafs – missing only one last month with a lower-body injury before getting scratched for Friday's game in Carolina.
Perhaps, most importantly, he is early in Year 2 of the $10-million, four-year contract he signed as a free agent. That status alone is usually enough to protect your spot in the rotation.
"Obviously it's difficult," Martin said Friday morning at PNC Arena. "You never want to be out of the lineup. It is what it is, though. You go out there, you work hard, you get ready for your next opportunity.
"I'll come here tonight, root the boys on, hopefully they get a win."
It was a decision that came without an explanation.
Martin had yet to sit down for a chat with Mike Babcock and the Leafs coach didn't offer up much when speaking with reporters. Asked how Martin was taking the decision, he said: "You know, ask Matt."
What seemed to be behind it, however, was a desire to spread even more balance throughout his lineup. Martin is a meat-and-potatoes player who will drop the gloves on occasion. He plays the fewest minutes on the team and isn't a threat offensively.
Babcock has often praised him for "keeping the flies off" his skilled young players.
However, when he shortened the bench during Wednesday's 2-1 shootout loss in Florida, Martin didn't see a shift beyond the second period.
The Leafs coach has done a fair bit of line juggling recently – "We haven't shown we can win every night," he noted Friday – and is seeking to create four forward groups that can hold their own against any opponent.
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