Prior to joining the Rangers, Martin has served on a coaching staff and/or in a front office position with an NHL team for three decades. He has spent parts of 17 seasons as a head coach in the NHL with St. Louis (1986-87 - 1987-88), Ottawa (1995-96 - 2003-04), Florida (2005-06 - 2007-08), and Montreal (2009-10 - 2011-12), and he has posted a 613-481-119-81 record (.551 points percentage) in 1,294 career games as a head coach in the NHL. Martin ranks 20th on the NHL's all-time wins list among head coaches, and he ranks 14th on the NHL's all-time games coached list among head coaches. He is the Senators' all-time leader in games coached (692), wins (341), playoff games coached (69), and playoff wins (31) among head coaches. In addition, Martin is the Panthers' all-time leader in wins by a head coach (110), and his 246 games coached with the Panthers are tied for the most by a head coach in franchise history. He also served as Florida's General Manager for three seasons (2006-07 - 2008-09), holding the roles of both Head Coach and General Manager for two seasons (2006-07 and 2007-08).
Martin, who won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year in 1998-99 and has also been named a finalist for the award on three other occasions (1996-97, 2000-01, and 2002-03), has guided his team to a playoff appearance in 12 of his 17 seasons as a head coach in the league (including 12 of 15 seasons in which he coached the entire season) and helped his team advance to the Eastern Conference Final twice (2002-03 with Ottawa and 2009-10 with Montreal). He has served as a head coach in 111 Stanley Cup Playoff games in his coaching career, and he ranks 22nd on the NHL's all-time playoff games coached list among head coaches. Including his tenure working as an Assistant Coach or in a front office role in the NHL, Martin's team has played in at least one postseason series in nine of his last 10 seasons and in 17 of his last 22 seasons.
The Saint-Pascal-Baylon, Ontario native has also held several roles with Team Canada in international competition. Martin has served as an Assistant Coach in the Winter Olympics twice (2002 and 2006), helping Canada win a gold medal in 2002. In addition, he helped Canada win the 2004 World Cup of Hockey as an Assistant Coach and helped Canada win a gold medal while serving as the team's Assistant General Manager at the 2007 IIHF World Championship.
Prior to beginning his coaching career in the NHL, Martin coached in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for three seasons, serving two seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Peterborough Petes (1983-84 and 1984-85) and one season as the Head Coach of the Guelph Platers (1985-86). In his one season as Guelph's Head Coach, Martin helped the team win the OHL Championship and the Memorial Cup, and he received the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHL's Coach of the Year.