The way Matt Martin's free agency played out, he said, was no surprise.
And, he said, being in the Islanders locker room with the same group he's played with for years felt much the same.
But the circumstances surrounding Martin's training camp, where he is fighting to make the Islanders following a professional tryout contract, are as different as they can be for someone who hasn't had to fight for a roster spot in nearly 15 years.
“It’s definitely a different mindset because you have something to prove from a different perspective than you had before when you had a contract,” Martin said. “I feel comfortable in this room. I’ve been good friends with a lot of these guys for a long time.”
Martin skated in line Thursday with two-way signing Fredrik Karlstrom and Hudson Fasching, one of the players who could be displaced if he ultimately makes the roster.
Although Martin dealt with some injuries last year (missing time in November and December, as well as the final two games of the postseason), he is, at his core, a known player.
At 35, he brings nothing new to a game that has fit like a glove on the Islanders' fourth line for years.
It's just a question of whether he can still do well enough to justify a roster spot.
“On and off the court, he can do a lot,” Ryan Pulock said. “He’s stood up for his teammates his whole career and you know that’s not going to change. And he plays a simple game. You know what’s coming to you every night. … I think in this locker room, all the players have so much respect for him that when he leads, we follow.”
For how much longer, however, is not known.
Ilya Sorokin (back) was not on the ice Thursday.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy did not have an update on his timetable for a return.
Goalie Tristan Lennox and forwards Daylan Kuefler and Jesse Nurmi were also absent from the first day of camp.
Scott Mayfield said his ankle felt “really good” after undergoing surgery in March.
Mayfield's summer was largely about rehab, but he returned to the ice midway through the offseason and said things had improved a lot over the past four to six weeks.
Bo Horvat centered Anthony Duclair and Mat Barzal in Roy's first opportunity to create attacking lines. Simon Holmstrom was with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri, while Anders Lee, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Pierre Engvall stayed in the same spot after finishing the season together.
Casey Cizikas skated between Maxim Tsyplakov and Julien Gauthier.
Kyle MacLean centered to Oliver Wahlstrom and two-way signing Liam Foudy.
