Paul Joseph Martin (born March 5, 1981) is an American former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. He was drafted by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

in the second round, 62nd overall, of the

2000 NHL Entry Draft The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was the 38th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24 and 25, 2000 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild. This ...

, playing six seasons for the organization before joining the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

in 2010 and later the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

in 2015.

Playing career

High school/collegiate

Martin played high school hockey at Elk River High School and was the Mr. Hockey award winner. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he was drafted in the second round, 62nd overall, by the

. He has sound offensive instincts and a projectable frame, and is a classic stay at home defenseman. He was part of a successful program at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in the

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's ice hockey-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated a ...

(WCHA). He helped his school win the 2002 and 2003 NCAA Division I National Championships.

Professional

Martin joined the Devils for the 2003–04 season, playing 70 games in his first full season, putting up 24 points. The next season, Martin played for Fribourg-Gottéron in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

due to the

2004–05 NHL lockout The 2004–05 NHL lockout was a labor lockout that resulted in the cancellation of the National Hockey League (NHL) season, which would have been its 88th season of play. The main dispute was the league's desire to implement a salary cap to ...

. He returned the next season, this time appearing in 80 games while increasing his point production to 37. During the 2006–07 season, Martin played the entire 82-game season, though his point total dropped to 26. During the 2009–10 season, Martin suffered a non-displaced fracture in his left forearm, playing in just 22 games and scoring a career-low 11 points. Martin signed a five-year, US$25 million contract with the

as an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2010. He made his Penguins regular season debut on October 7, 2010, against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...

, picking up the primary assist on Tyler Kennedy's third period goal, the Penguins' first ever at the

Consol Energy Center PPG Paints Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Pittsburgh, that serves as the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). It previously was the home of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (2010), Aren ...

. He returned to New Jersey to face his former team for the first time on October 11, and finished the game with a goal, an assist and over 26 minutes of ice time in a 3–1 Penguins victory. Martin scored his first

Stanley Cup playoff The season structure of the National Hockey League (NHL) is divided into the pre-season, regular season, and the Stanley Cup playoffs. In the pre-season, which is generally held during the last two weeks of September, each team plays several not-fo ...

goal with the Penguins on April 13, 2012, against the Philadelphia Flyers in an 8–5 Penguins loss. He was scratched with an undisclosed injury for Game 4. On July 1, 2015, Martin was signed as a free agent to a four-year, $19.4 million deal with the San Jose Sharks. He lost to his former team, the Penguins, in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. On January 16, 2018, the Sharks assigned Martin to their

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

San Jose Barracuda The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season. The Barracuda is a relocation of the ...

. On June 22, 2018, the Sharks placed Martin on unconditional waivers for purpose of a buyout. He cleared waivers on June 23, 2018. He announced his retirement on November 14, 2018.

International play

Martin was named to

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

for the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second t ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

and again for the

2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, along with then-Devils teammates

Zach Parise Zachary Justin Parise (born July 28, 1984) is an American professional ice hockey left winger for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. Parise captained ...

and

Jamie Langenbrunner Jamie Craig Langenbrunner (; born July 24, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey player. Langenbrunner was formerly the captain of the 2010 United States Olympic Team, a member of the 1999 Dallas Stars' Stanley Cup championship ...

. Martin, however, did not see any action in the 2006 Winter Olympics, and missed the 2010 Winter Olympics due to a broken arm; he was replaced in the latter tournament by

Tim Gleason Timothy Patrick Gleason (born January 29, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and current assistant coach to the Carolina Hurricanes. Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the first round, 23rd overall, at the 2001 NHL En ...

. Martin was also named to Team USA for the

2014 Winter Olympics , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents in ...

, where the U.S. failed to medal.

Philanthropy

In 2017, Martin launched the Shine A Ligh7 Foundation, a non-profit organization that distributes funds to qualified non-profit organizations who raise awareness and reduce the stigma for those affected by

bullying Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an imba ...

, depression, and

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

issues.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Paul 1981 births Living people American expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland American men's ice hockey defensemen HC Fribourg-Gottéron players Ice hockey people from Minneapolis Ice hockey players at the 2014 Winter Olympics Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Olympic ice hockey players of the United States Pittsburgh Penguins players San Jose Barracuda players San Jose Sharks players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans NCAA men's ice hockey national champions