Tim Hortons Brier: Missing playoffs raises questions about the future of Kevin Martin’s rink

EDMONTON - There was nothing could do but watch his fate be determined on another sheet of ice.

The veteran Alberta skip saw his dreams of a fifth Tim Hortons Brier title disappear when Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton delivered a last-rock draw to the button for a 6-5, extra-end victory over B.C. Wins by Manitoba and Northern Ontario in the Brier's final round-robin games eliminated Alberta from the playoffs with a 7-4 record.

Martin's playoff hopes had been on life support since he started the week losing four of his first five games. The plug was finally pulled Friday night.

"We did the best we could," said Martin, a former world champion and Olympic gold medallist. "We put ourselves in that position."

Questions are now swirling about the future of Martin and his rink of John Morris, Marc Kennedy and Ben Hebert.

"We know how to win," said Kennedy, the veteran second. "We know what it takes. We know you can have an off week.

"I think it's been a little bit blown out of portion how negative things have been."

You can accept the excuse a team sometimes plays poorly. What's unacceptable is when it happens at a national championship in your home town.

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Martin said it took time for him to figure out the idiosyncrasies of the new rocks used at the Brier. He also stated the obvious when he said the team was "just not sharp.

"Sometimes it goes that way," he said. "Sometimes you come to a Brier, not play very well, but the other guys don't either."

Martin's team already has qualified for December's Roar of the Rings Olympic trails in Winnipeg. The goal is to win a berth at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games and defend their Olympic gold medal.

Martin hedges when the topic of retirement after the Olympics is raised.

"That's up to a lot of people," he said. "I'll talk to my team, my family, our sponsors. There's a lot of things to consider before you do something like that.

"I could do that (retire). That would be no problem. And I might not and that would be no problem."

The decision could be taken out of Martin's hands. It's been suggested some members of the team are ready to move on without him.

"I don't think they are going to cut me," said Martin. "They might. We'll see.

"That's an awfully good team. We have been together for a long time."

Kennedy said the team has no plans past the Olympics.

"That's as far as we ever discussed anyway," he said. "If we win the trials and get to the Olympics, great. If we don't, we'll see.

"We have never gone further than that. It's always been a four-year plan for us and that's where our focus is. If we win the trials great. If we don't, we will reassess it."

It's been a roller-coaster season for Martin. After struggling to a 1-5 record at the Canada Cup in Moose Jaw, Sask., he underwent laparoscopic surgery on a hernia in December and missed the Canadian Open, the second men’s Grand Slam.

Martin returned in time for the Continental Cup and rolled to a 15-1 record through the provincial playoffs.

After a horrible start at the Brier Martin managed to get the team back on track. Whether he can keep it on the rails in the future remains to be seen.