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“Marty’s a real good leader in the room. He does things right, a good pro. He’s meant a lot to us. It’s a good signing for our team with so many kids on it.”

Given that Babcock has yet to find steady linemates for Martin, it has been a work in progress. With the Islanders, the Windsor, Ont., native had a tight relationship with linemates Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, both on and off the ice.

“It’s been an adjustment for sure. but (Toronto) is a first-class organization, obviously,” Martin said prior to Sunday’s game. “Playing with Cal and Casey for two and a half years, it got to be pretty easy as linemates knowing where each other are at all times.

“Right now we’re still learning (with the Leafs.) For me, even learning the structures and the systems, it’s a little different than what we had on the island.”’

Martin had one of his better games as a Leaf on Saturday in Montreal toiling on a line with Ben Smith and Seth Griffith.

“We’re being pretty vocal,” Martin said. “Obviously, we want to get in on the forecheck and be physical and be responsible defensively.”

Martin was expecting it to be an emotional night against the Islanders, a team that gave him his start in the NHL and where he was arguably the second most popular player behind captain John Tavares.

The hard-core Islanders fans loved the fact that he led the NHL in hits for the past five seasons and was part of one of the more effective fourth lines in the league.

“There’s a whole business to this it’s not as simple as just wanting to stay,” Martin said when asked (then interrupted) about why he left the Islanders for Toronto. “I don’t want to get into logistics here. I just want to say I had a great time on the island here, it was a special time for me. But now I’m a Maple Leaf.”