Pierre Engvall Recently Traded to Islanders
So, Pierre Engvall is joining the Islanders. The move is one of three the Toronto Maple Leafs did Tuesday in a hectic pre-deadline afternoon.
So how does he fit in? The 26-year-old is a pending free agent with a $2.3 million cap hit. At 6-foot-5 and 219 pounds, the Swede plays a very good two-way game within the middle six of a given forward group. He is also very versatile, able to play on either wing or down the middle. The cost was a third-round pick next year. As I mentioned in the Leafs post, he could fit into Lou Lamoriello’s long-term plans.
Check out JFresh with Engvall’s full profile:
Obviously, that chart is not too shabby at all.
Engvall’s addition greatly helps an Islander forward group who is down both JG Pageau and Mathew Barzal. At face value, he should fit in nicely to a third line that could include the likes of Zach Parise, Josh Bailey, or Hudson Fasching. Depending on what kind of money he could be looking for, Engvall could even fit in as a replacement for Cal Clutterbuck or Matt Martin. For those wondering, those two have a combined age of 68.
He was one of the smaller cogs in a Toronto team that has so far had a very good regular season. Now, there’s a chance he plays an elevated role for an Isles team with their backs against the wall in a tight playoff race.
More To Come?
It’s also worth wondering what else the Islanders could be up to. Despite having a very large number of games played over the rest of the field, they have won three of their last four, including a very important home and home sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins last week.
In all likelihood, the Islanders may not. They don’t have many assets left and the major names on the market are now off the board.
Maybe Lamoriello could call up the Arizona Coyotes. Nick Schmaltz is a name that makes a lot of sense for this group. A right-handed shot, he could take Barzal’s spot on the top line. However, he is only 26 and has three years left on a $5.85 million cap hit. Lamoriello would probably have to offload Bailey and a number of remaining assets to make it happen.
The Islanders and Leafs made a deal that likely went under the radar for most. Some may have question marks, but it is mostly a deal that makes sense for both sides. New York gets Pierre Engvall, some quality forward depth and reinforcements. Toronto gets cap help and an asset after giving up many.
