Martin played seventeen seasons in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and Vancouver Canucks.

Nicknamed Pit after a comic strip character in a French newspaper, Martin was scouted by former NHL goaltender Wilf Cude and joined the Red Wings organization.

Martin got his first NHL goal as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in his team's 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on December 7, 1963.

However, Martin himself was a bright spot of the trade for the Black Hawks, starring for them for ten seasons as a skilled two-way centre.

On November 30, 2008, Martin was reported missing following a snowmobile accident on Lake Kanasuta near Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.