Jordan Martinook

The ideal depth player, Martinook was once again an underrated key cog for a quality Carolina team. He played in all 82 regular season games for the club, finishing with 13 goals and a career-best 34 points. Martinook was even better in the postseason, adding a dozen points in 15 games, including a stretch in the second round against New Jersey in which he had four straight multi-point outings. Martinook isn't of much use in any fantasy format, but he's going to help the Hurricanes win hockey games once again in 2023-24.

A responsible bottom-six forward who can kill penalties and provide defensive stability, Martinook played 59 games for the Hurricanes last season, managing six goals and 15 points. Martinook missed eight of Carolina's fourteen playoff games with a lower-body injury and his absence was noticed. There's no reason to get excited here from a fantasy perspective, but the now 30-year-old Canadian will again be relied upon to fill an important role for the Hurricanes in 2022-23. Just make sure you look elsewhere on draft day.

Martinook produced 13 points for a second straight season, doing so in 44 contests last year. The 29-year-old added 90 hits and 25 PIM as an energy forward in the Hurricanes' bottom six. The book has essentially been written on Martinook -- he's good for about 25 points and well over 100 hits when he's healthy, although he's lost time to core muscle, upper-body and knee injuries in the last two years. He plays a physically taxing game, which could wear down the Manitoba native a bit with a full 82-game season on tap in 2021-22. Fantasy managers in deeper formats may still want to kick the tires on him, but he's little more than a depth option for virtual rosters.

Martinook struggled to maintain a consistent role with the Hurricanes last year, as core muscle surgery and a separate upper-body injury limited him to 13 points in 45 contests. A versatile forward, Martinook can play either wing, but he'll likely only see bottom-six minutes when he plays this season. Remarkably durable prior to last year, it's right to question if he'll throw the body around as much as he used to -- he had 199 hits in 2018-19 before recording only 72 last year. The 28-year-old will likely be a rotational player in 2020-21, so fantasy managers should look elsewhere for both points and physicality.

Martinook's value comes primarily from his willingness to throw the body around. He potted a career-best 15 goals and tied his career high with 25 points last season, adding 199 hits. Set to reprise his bottom-six role for the Hurricanes, Martinook could be worth a look in the later rounds of leagues that value hits, but the 27-year-old winger doesn't have the offensive ability to earn much consideration otherwise.

A penalty-killing specialist lauded for his rigid work ethic, Martinook moved from Arizona to Carolina in a trade that also involved Marcus Kruger and a pair of 2018 draft picks last May. Soon after the transaction processed, it was revealed that the winger played through a torn ligament in his left thumb during the second half of the 2017-18 campaign. While that's not much of a long-term concern, it helps explain why Martinook finished with his weakest offensive output (six goals, nine assists) in a three-year span. The Coyotes had Martinook starting close to 60 percent of his 5-on-5 shifts in the defensive zone, but with two-time Selke Trophy winner Rod Brind'Amour taking over as Carolina's new head coach, he should make the most of Martinook's two-way talents.

There are likely too many skilled players ahead of Martinook on the Arizona depth chart for him to land a scoring role entering the season. However, he does have the potential to be a serviceable third-line forward while chipping in modest offensive numbers. He's never going to be a go-to scorer, but Martinook has proven himself as a versatile two-way player at the NHL level the past two years. His fantasy ceiling is low, but Martinook still offers modest value in cavernous settings.

Martinook played well for AHL Portland last season, generating 15 goals and 43 points in 62 games before suiting up in eight games for Arizona. He will have to surpass a number of veterans and other youngsters ahead of him on the depth chart in order to see significant playing time in the NHL, thus dimming his fantasy prospects for the upcoming season.

The Coyotes' second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, Martinook had his best season in the WHL last year, posting 64 points (40 goals) in 72 games and adding 80 sin bin minutes and a plus-14 rating. He'll spend another year in juniors, but keep an eye on him in the future as the Coyotes are always looking to add strong center play to the big club.