Martin wasn't playing poorly when he replaced in the Leaf lineup. Like all 4th liners of his ilk, he has to play a bit and feel wanted. If the Leafs don't want him, he can be had for free, heck the Leafs might throw a sweetener, but Martin won't hurt a team when he's on the ice.

I love Matty. But two words: salary retention. Can't pay another $2.5M to Martin when Cizikas/Clutterbuck are getting $6.85M combined. Ross Johnston was very capable in Martin's role and will come at a third of the cost

I'd ask Toronto to retain. If we could get Martin back on the roster at the cost of 1.5M a year, I'd do it in a heart beat. The old E=MC2 line was great.

That said, I don't think it's likely to happen unless Lou sees it as a way to entice Tavares to stay. And I think Tavares would be paying enough attention to all the new coach buzz (Trotz. PLEASE.) and trade deadline buzz that acquiring Martin would be an afterthought. And if it doesn't help Tavares stay, I don't see Lou doing this. He'll want to build this team the way he wants it built, not how Snow built it.