The mystery of Martin Jones: What happened to the former Maple Leaf goaltender?

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Chris Gerics
September 20, 2024 (10:47)

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The Toronto Maple Leafs had a dark horse contender for their best goaltender last year in Martin Jones, but now the former LA Kings and San Jose Sharks goaltender has gone radio silent and remains unsigned.

Jones spent the 2023-2024 season with the Toronto Maple Leafs and found himself with an 11-8-1 record with a 2.87 GAA and .902 save percentage; he wasn't really bothered by any injuries and stepped in big time for Joseph Woll and Ilya Samsonov when they had injuries and struggled during the season. He was their anchor and now it seems his ship has sailed.

He was a tryout candidate with Los Angeles, and he impressed so much they ended up signing the goaltender hoping they had found a possible successor to Jonathan Quick. He was recalled in 2013-2014 when Quick went down with injury and the ever humble Jones was stoic and calm after his first NHL game with Los Angeles; a trait he would bring to every locker room he's been in.

He's also been a part of a big trade in Bruins history as well. Jones was part of the trade that sent Milan Lucic to Los Angeles, but his time in Beantown didn't last long as Boston shipped him off to San Jose not long after.

Goaltender Jones excelled in his first season as the #1 goaltender for San Jose posting a 37-23-4 record with a 2.27 GAA and a .918 save percentage; he finished second in the league in shutouts to Blackhawks legend Corey Crawford and rode that huge season into an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015-2016 where he unfortunately came up short.

He was a solid starter in San Jose, posting a 170-121-27 record with a 2.66 GAA and .907 save percentage but was a bit more even in the playoffs with San Jose, having a 32-27-0 record with a 2.41 GAA and .917 save percentage. Clearly the numbers were there but the team in front of him couldn't take advantage of his talent, which is a shame.

He bounced around between Philadelphia and Seattle before signing with the Maple Leafs last season as insurance. He was solid in his time in Toronto and came up huge at crucial points in high-stakes games and often found himself the honor of being a top NHL goaltender at times, not just for Toronto.

So far though, he's been radio silent over what he plans to do for this season. He didn't re-sign with Toronto and now with Anthony Stolarz in the mix, as well as a deep goaltending prospect pool, it seems like Jones has no place in the system as of now.

Which is a shame, because this is a story of someone who earned himself a simple tryout with an NHL team and clearly showed the poise, determination, talent and passion to not only make the NHL but to carve out a solid career including a Stanley Cup win. I hope this isn't the end for Jones, but if it is, he should know he was appreciated more than he thinks.