Alec Martinez (born July 26, 1987) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He is a three-time

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion, having won with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and with the

Vegas Golden Knights The Vegas Golden Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Golden Knights compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

. In 2014, he scored both the Western Conference Finals-winning goal and

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, ) is the annual championship series of the National Hockey League (NHL). The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup, North America's oldest professional spo ...

-winning goal, both in overtime.

Early life

Martinez was born in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

suburb of Rochester Hills,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. His paternal grandfather is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and his paternal grandmother is

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

. He grew up in Michigan before moving to

Fremont, California Fremont () is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area, Fremont has a population of 230,504 as of 2020, making it the fourth List of cities and towns in the San F ...

where he played junior hockey for the Santa Clara Blackhawks and San Jose Jr. Sharks. He earned four varsity letters at Stoney Creek High School in Rochester Hills. He played college hockey while attending

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

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Playing career

Los Angeles Kings

Martinez was drafted 95th overall by the

in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft while playing for

. He made his professional debut for the Kings'

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) minor league affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs, in 2008. A year later, he was announced to the opening roster for the 2009–10 season with Kings, in which he played four games and had no goals and no assists on six shots on goal. He was sent back down to the Manchester Monarchs for the first 20 games of the 2010–11 season. On November 23, 2010, he was recalled by the Los Angeles Kings to replace the struggling Jake Muzzin. On November 24, Martinez scored his first NHL goal, on the power play, in 4–1 loss to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

at the

Bell Centre Bell Centre (French: ''Centre Bell)'', formerly known as Molson Centre, is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), ...

against goaltender Carey Price. Martinez had his first multi-point game December 4, 2010, including a goal against

Chris Osgood Christopher John Osgood (born November 26, 1972) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently a Detroit Red Wings studio analyst and part-time color commentator for FanDuel Sports Network Detroit. He won thre ...

of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

in a 3–2 victory for the Kings. After joining the squad for the 2010–11 season, Martinez earned trust from former Kings Head Coach Terry Murray for solid offensive and defensive play, and that continued after Darryl Sutter replaced Murray in December 2011. On July 8, 2011, Martinez signed a two-year, $1,475,000 contract with the Kings. On June 11, 2012, the team won the

. With the

2012–13 NHL season The 2012–13 NHL season was the 96th season of operation (95th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on January 19, 2013, and ended on April 28, 2013, with the playoffs to follow until June. The Chicago B ...

being threatened by a lockout that ultimately wiped out half the season, on December 31, 2012, Martinez signed with the

Allen Americans The Allen Americans are a professional ice hockey team headquartered at the Allen Event Center, Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas, which currently plays in the ECHL. The team was founded in 2009–10 CHL season, 2009 in the Centr ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

. He played with them until the end of the lockout. Martinez was injured for 10 of the Kings' first 15 games of the 2013–14 season, but wound up returning as a regular on the Kings' defense, even contributing to the team's offense. He scored two series winners en route to the Kings' second

title – on June 1, 2014, Martinez scored 5:47 into overtime of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

on goaltender Corey Crawford; 12 days later, in Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals against the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

, a shot by Tyler Toffoli, which rebounded off goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in double overtime, led to another Martinez goal. The goal was scored with 5:17 left in double overtime as he became the 17th player to score the Cup-winning goal in overtime. He became the first to do it since

Patrick Kane Patrick Timothy Kane II (born November 19, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey winger (ice hockey), right winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks with the List of ...

in 2010 and the first to do it at home since Bob Nystrom in 1980. On December 4, 2014, Martinez signed a 6 year $24 million extension with the Kings. Playing a full 82 games for the only time in his NHL career (and one of only four defensemen on the team’s roster), Martinez recorded a career high 39 points in the 2016–17 season, his best season post-Stanley Cup Finals.

Vegas Golden Knights

On February 19, 2020, Martinez was traded to the

in exchange for a second-round pick in the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

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' second-round pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. Martinez had a successful debut with the Golden Knights, scoring a goal and an assist in a 5–3 win over the

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

. On July 28, 2021, Martinez signed a three-year, $15.75 million contract with the Golden Knights. On November 11, 2021, Martinez was cut in the face by Brandon Duhaime's skate in a match against the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...

. He would be placed on long term injured reserve as a result. He was activated off the IR on March 26, 2022. During the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals against the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

, Martinez scored two goals, after going scoreless most of the playoffs, to secure his third Stanley Cup championship. After hoisting the Cup himself, he handed it to former Kings teammate Jonathan Quick, who had joined the Golden Knights earlier in the year. Reflecting on his third victory, Martinez said "this one is a little different being on the other side of the age spectrum."

Chicago Blackhawks

Leaving the Golden Knights as a free agent, Martinez signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the

on July 1, 2024. On April 13, 2025, shortly before the Blackhawks' last home game of the season, Martinez announced that he would be retiring from the NHL, forgoing the Blackhawks' two remaining road games. Martinez, alongside fellow retiree

Patrick Maroon Patrick Maroon (born April 23, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Nicknamed "Big Rig", Maroon played for the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Je ...

, received a video tribute and standing ovation during the game, as well as a handshake line from the visiting

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The te ...

International play

Martinez represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the

2018 IIHF World Championship The 2018 IIHF World Championship was an international ice hockey tournament hosted by the Denmark, Danish cities of Copenhagen and Herning, held from 4 to 20 May 2018. The IIHF announced the winning bid on 23 May 2014 in Minsk, Belarus. South Kor ...

where he recorded one goal and two assists in ten games and won a bronze medal.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Alec 1987 births Living people Allen Americans players American men's ice hockey defensemen 21st-century American sportsmen American people of Spanish descent Cedar Rapids RoughRiders players Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey players from Michigan Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Manchester Monarchs (AHL) players Miami RedHawks men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Rochester Hills, Michigan Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan Stanley Cup champions HC TPS players Vegas Golden Knights players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American expatriate ice hockey players in Finland