Kicking off our New York Islanders milestone series here at The Hockey News is forward Matt Martin, who is coming off a tremendous 2022-23 campaign.

New York Islanders forward Matt Martin proved he had more in the tank this past season. 

Playing in 81 games -- missing just one game due to the birth of his second daughter -- the 34-year-old winger set offensive career-highs with seven goals and 12 assists. 

While offense isn't Martin's forte, the grinding forward also blocked 43 shots -- his highest total since the 2010-11 season -- along with 295 hits, his most since the 2016-17 campaign.

The 14-year veteran had a fantastic year for himself, reaching the 100-career fight milestone as well, and now Martin is gearing up for his 13th season with the Islanders, and there's more milestones to be reached. 

When the puck drops on Oct. 17 at UBS Arena for a meeting between the Islanders and the Arizona Coyotes, the club's second game of the season, Martin will be skating in his 900th career NHL game.

If Martin can stay healthy this season, he sits just 34 games shy of reaching 800 games with the Islanders and would become just the seventh player in franchise history to reach that mark. 

People tend to forget that Martin spent two seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, as then Maple Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello signed him to a four-year deal worth $10 million during free agency in 2016.

Martin played in 132 of the Maple Leaf's 164 games over two years, falling out of favor with the club. 

When Lamoriello left Toronto and joined the Islanders in July of 2018, he brought Martin back to Long Island in exchange for goalie prospect Eamon McAdam.

That trade reunited Martin with Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, a fourth line that was the best in the NHL for a handful of years and no question played a vital role in the back-to-back runs to the semi-finals in 2020 and 2021. 

However, after an ankle injury during the 2020-21 season, there was speculation that Martin's career as an everyday NHL player may be coming to an end. 

When Martin wasn't ready when the 2021-22 season began due to off-season ankle surgery, coupled with the Islanders handing Ross Johnston, Martin's mentee, replacement -- you pick the word -- a four-year deal worth $4.4 million (contract began in 2022-23), that speculation grew even stronger,

Martin changed the narrative as he shook off that ankle injury.

The 2022-23 season proved that, when healthy, Martin is still an effective fourth-liner for New York. 

As of now, the expectation is that the Islanders identity line will be back for another season. That's per Lamoriello's words come season's end, as well as Cal Clutterbuck's plan to play this upcoming season after an injury-riddled last few seasons. 

Whether that remains true once training camp begins, the milestones will be coming for Martin this season.