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Pierre Engvall

New York Islanders To Retain Pierre Engvall, Scott Mayfield

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Per a team release, the New York Islanders have announced separate contracts for forward Pierre Engvall and defenseman Scott Mayfield. Both contracts will be for seven years, while Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets is reporting that Engvall’s AAV will be for $3MM. Similarly, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Mayfield’s AAV will be $3.5MM.

Engvall, who was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs at last year’s trade deadline, fit quite well into the lineup after the move to New York. In 18 games played down the stretch in the regular season, Engvall scored five goals and four assists, creating a very stable presence in the team’s middle six. An analytics darling, Engvall transitioned quite well to the Islanders’ defense-first brand of hockey and will continue to do so for the next seven seasons.

Like Engvall, Mayfield also received a lengthy contract term from New York, one that may bode quite nicely for the team. This past season was the best of his career, playing in all 82 games for the Islanders, scoring six goals and 18 assists all while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per night. Mayfield has become one of the better two-way defensemen on the roster, aiding in New York’s top-10 penalty kill in the league last season.

Islanders Notes: Bailey, Coaching Staff, Free Agents, Injury Updates

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Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello met with the media today (video link) and provided updates on several things while also confirming that he is under contract, though he declined to state for how long.  Here are some of the updates from his presser.

  • Speaking about veteran winger Josh Bailey, Lamoriello indicated that “In Josh’s case, it looks like, maybe it’s near the end here.” The 33-year-old had a rough showing this season, notching just eight goals and 17 assists in 64 games, resulting in him being a healthy scratch at times.  Bailey still has one year left on his contract with a $5MM AAV, one that would require New York to provide an incentive for another team to take on.  A buyout, meanwhile, would save around $2.33MM on the cap for next season while adding $1.167MM in dead space for 2024-25.
  • Lamoriello also confirmed that head coach Lane Lambert would be back for his second season behind the bench. The team was eliminated in the first round by Carolina and didn’t take as big of a step forward offensively as expected; the team scored just 12 more goals than they did under the defensive-minded Barry Trotz.  However, Lamoriello wouldn’t confirm that the full coaching staff would be back for next year, stating “that’s not something that I can assert to at this point”.  John MacLean and Doug Houda were the lead assistants this season for the Isles.
  • Lamoriello indicated that he’d like to re-sign pending UFA defenseman Scott Mayfield, goaltender Semyon Varlamov, and forward Pierre Engvall. Mayfield has become a steady top-four blueliner and should more than double the $1.45MM AAV from his expiring deal.  Varlamov played in just 23 games this season, his fewest games played total since getting a brief stint in his rookie year in 2008-09.  He’s coming off a $5MM contract and will be facing a likely cut in pay, especially if he wants to remain in New York.  Engvall, meanwhile, came over at the trade deadline from Toronto and picked up nine points in 18 games following the swap.  He’s coming off a $2.25MM contract and should be in line for more than that on the open market.  With the Islanders having a little over $5MM in cap space per CapFriendly, they have some work to do if they want to bring those three back.
  • As for Zach Parise, another pending UFA, Lamoriello mentioned he’d also like to bring him back but the veteran first needs to decide if he’s going to play again next season. The 38-year-old had a productive year with 21 goals but after 18 NHL seasons, it’s certainly possible that he decides to call it a career.
  • Lamoriello also noted that winger Oliver Wahlstrom has resumed skating as he works his way back from an ACL injury back in late December. He, along with Alexander Romanov (shoulder surgery), are both set to be ready in time for training camp.

Afternoon News: Capitals, Howden, Maple Leafs

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic wrote a piece today that highlighted the nine forwards he believes would fit what the Washington Capitals are looking for this offseason. El-Bashir begins the piece by shining a light on the salary cap crunch that will leave the Capitals with around $5MM in cap space this summer. That leaves Washington with precious little space to work with, however El-Bashir quickly points out that Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha are both trade options that are finding their names on a lot of trade boards.

El-Bashir feels that Washington won’t target players over 30 given their age and Washington’s precarious cap situation. He lists Tyler Bertuzzi, Connor Brown, Andreas Athanasiou, Ivan Barbashev, Michael Bunting, J.T. Compher, Max Domi, Pierre Engvall, and Evan Rodrigues as the likely targets for Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. Washington has an extensive group of forwards signed to contracts for next season but have a glaring hole on the right wing. Given the cost and the need I would likely put current Capitals forward Connor Brown near the top of the list. Brown was acquired from the Ottawa Senators for a second round pick last summer but only dressed in four games before suffering a season ending ACL injury in his right knee.

In other afternoon notes:

  • Jesse Granger of The Athletic is reporting that Brett Howden of the Vegas Golden Knights was on the ice for the team’s morning skate ahead of their game 4 matchup against the Dallas Stars. Granger reported yesterday that the 25-year-old center had tweaked a lower body injury in game 2 and tried to play through it but couldn’t. Howden missed game 3 and given that he’s seen a lot of time in Vegas’ top-6 as of late, his return would be a welcome boost if he can dress tonight. Howden had a pedestrian regular season with 13 points in 54 games, however in these playoffs he has three goals and three assists in 14 games. Vegas has a chance to sweep Dallas this evening.
  • Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star wrote an opinion piece today about why former Calgary Flames general manager Brad Treliving checks so many of the boxes that Brendan Shanahan and the Toronto Maple Leafs would be looking to tick. McGran highlights Treliving’s experience in Calgary working in a collaborative environment with former president of hockey ops Brian Burke. Toronto’s future general manager would be tied to Shanahan as well as the board of MLSE, it is a job that is different from some other NHL clubs, however Treliving has worked within a similar structure. McGran also cites Treliving’s penchant for having the guts to make bold moves, Treliving spent last summer overhauling the Calgary Flames out of necessity by trading Matthew Tkachuk to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar as well as signing Nazem Kadri as a free agent.

Metropolitan Notes: Fletcher, Konecny, Engvall, Barzal, Domi

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Speaking with reporters today (video link), Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher discussed his plans for the upcoming trade deadline.  Unsurprisingly, the team plans to sell and he acknowledged that the bulk of the discussions so far have been regarding players on expiring contracts, particularly winger James van Riemsdyk.  However, he made a point to say that he doesn’t intend for the team to go into a scorched-earth rebuild which suggests that Philadelphia’s deadline activity could be somewhat limited if they primarily deal with moving players on expiring contracts.  Fletcher also mentioned that they don’t plan to add too many players from Lehigh Valley to allow them to continue to battle for a spot in the AHL playoffs.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Also from Fletcher’s press conference, he indicated that winger Travis Konecny is going to miss at least a few more weeks due to his upper-body injury. With the Flyers not heading for the playoffs, the GM indicated that it’s possible that there isn’t enough time for him to return this season.  The 25-year-old is seven points shy of matching his career-high of 61 but at this point, it doesn’t seem likely that Konecny will be able to get there.
  • While the Islanders quickly signed Bo Horvat to a contract extension after acquiring him, don’t expect that to be the case for their latest acquisition in Pierre Engvall. GM Lou Lamoriello told Newsday’s Andrew Gross (Twitter link) that they’ll “take one thing at a time” with the winger but acknowledged that he’s someone that he’d like to keep beyond this season.  Engvall, who carries a $2.25MM AAV, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and has 21 points in 58 games so far.
  • In a separate tweet, Gross relays that center Jean-Gabriel Pageau has resumed skating as he works his way back from an upper-body injury that has kept him out for the last two and a half weeks. Pageau has 29 points in 58 games this season and plays more minutes than any Islanders forward on the penalty kill, a unit that’s one of the strongest in the league; getting him back would certainly be a boost to a New York squad that’s trying to hold onto a Wild Card spot.
  • A year ago, the Hurricanes acquired Max Domi as a rental player just before the trade deadline. In his latest column for The Athletic (subscription link), Pierre LeBrun reports that Domi is once again on Carolina’s radar heading into this week’s deadline.  The 27-year-old had seven points in 19 games with the Hurricanes last season and has been quite productive with the Blackhawks this year, notching 49 points in 59 games.  Accordingly, the price that it will take to get him this time around should be considerably higher than the mid-round prospect and a minor leaguer that it cost them in 2022.

New York Islanders Acquire Pierre Engvall

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The Toronto Maple Leafs confirmed that the team has traded forward Pierre Engvall to the New York Islanders for a third-round selection in 2024. After already trading away defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals earlier this afternoon, the Maple Leafs send another player out the door. Headed for unrestricted free agency at the conclusion of this season, Engvall adds another large and imposing forward to the mix for the Islanders. Standing at 6’5″, Engvall becomes a valuable player that the Islanders will now have on their roster.

As likely the team and fan base with the most desperation for Lord Stanley’s glory, GM Kyle Dubas continues to cultivate the Maple Leafs into an even more legitimate Stanley Cup threat. After having already acquired players such as Ryan O’Reilly, Jake McCabe, and Erik Gustafsson in various moves, Dubas was able to create even more flexibility for the Maple Leafs with this move. Set to become a free agent at season’s end, Engvall was on a one-year, $2.25MM contract this year. Drafted in the seventh round by the Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Draft, Engvall became one of the better depth forwards for the team over the course of the last several seasons. Scoring a career-high 35 points last year, Engvall will have the ability to show off his skill with another team in the playoff hunt.

Immediately becoming one of the tallest forwards on the team, Engvall will allow the Islanders to employ an even more imposing offense. Having already supplemented their goal-scoring issues with the acquisition of Bo Horvat earlier this year, Engvall takes more of a defensive approach to the game. With a Corsi-for above 50% in the last two seasons, Engvall’s team was controlling the puck more with him on the ice. One of the more defensively sound teams in the game, the Islanders will benefit from adding another forward who fits their mold and style of play.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that Pierre Engvall was headed to the Islanders.

Pierre Engvall Suspended One Game

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5:50 PM: The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that Engvall will serve a one-game suspension for his high stick on Durzi.

10:13 AM: Match penalties given for intent to injure come with an automatic review from the league, meaning the NHL has some work to do following the Toronto Maple Leafs-Los Angeles Kings game last night. Pierre Engvall will have a hearing with the Department of Player Safety for his high stick on Sean Durzi, which earned him a five-minute major and an early trip to the showers.

The two players were engaged all over the rink, before meeting again at center ice. After they both raised their sticks to battle, Engvall ended up swinging his down and hitting Durzi in the back of the head and neck. The Kings defenseman did not suffer a major injury, but Engvall may end up missing more than just the remainder of that game.

Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe afterward said that he didn’t think Engvall meant to make such heavy contact, explaining that “you’ve all watched Pierre play for long enough to know he doesn’t play with an intent to injure.” The 6’5″ forward had just six penalty minutes in 27 games before last night, four of which came against the Dallas Stars earlier this week for another high stick, this time on Jason Robertson.

Given the lack of injury and clean record of the 26-year-old, it seems unlikely for him to get a lengthy suspension. But the Maple Leafs should prepare for life without him for tomorrow’s game against the Calgary Flames. With Nick Robertson suffering a shoulder injury, the Maple Leafs could be down two players from last night’s lineup.

Toronto Maple Leafs Recall Joey Anderson

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With Nick Robertson out with a shoulder injury and Pierre Engvall facing a potential suspension, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Joey Anderson from the minor leagues. It’s the first call-up of the season for the minor league forward, who cleared waivers at the start of the year.

Anderson, 24, does have 58 games of NHL experience under his belt, but only six of those have come since he was acquired by Toronto in 2020. A third-round selection of the New Jersey Devils, he has spent most of his time with the Toronto Marlies the last three seasons, where he continues to produce as a top-end AHL player. In 21 games this season, Anderson has 11 goals and 19 points.

A great example of a player who appears to be good enough to provide some value at the NHL level but who hasn’t received much of an opportunity, injury issues will likely be the only way Anderson finds his way into the Toronto lineup on a regular basis.

While these situations usually at least mean a bit of a pay raise for the recalled player, Anderson doesn’t have to worry about that. He is on a one-way deal, meaning he’ll earn $800K no matter which level he plays. The Maple Leafs are known for enticing a few players with the promise of NHL salaries in the minor leagues; Kyle Clifford and Adam Gaudette are two others on one-way deals in the AHL.

Timothy Liljegren, Pierre Engvall To Miss Start Of Training Camp

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Sep 21: Liljegren will be out a minimum of six weeks following hernia surgery earlier this week. Engvall suffered an ankle injury while training in Sweden and will be re-evaluated in the first week of October.

Sep 20: The Toronto Maple Leafs season isn’t getting off to a good start, as injury news has already started to trickle out. First, it was Chris Johnston of NorthStar Bets reporting that Timothy Liljegren will miss training camp, with the team expected to address the situation with the media tomorrow. Next, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff tweeted that Pierre Engvall will also miss the start of camp, and is waiting for another evaluation.

No timeline is clear for either player but both appear to be out for the next little while at least.

The Liljegren news is especially troublesome for the Maple Leafs, who still don’t have a ton of depth on the right side of their defense. T.J. Brodie will likely play on that side again (despite being left-handed), and Justin Holl is still around to suit up. But beyond that, Liljegren was expected to be thrust into a bigger role this year, potentially even logging top-four minutes every night.

Now, some of those minutes may have to go to players like Jordie Benn or Victor Mete, who were signed in the offseason.

It will be interesting to see if this affects negotiations with unsigned RFA Rasmus Sandin, given there should be a bit of an opening in the lineup if Liljegren missed a considerable amount of time. Speculation for months has indicated that Sandin may be looking for a bigger role, something that didn’t seem possible once the team re-signed Mark Giordano to a two-year deal. Perhaps this is the opening he needs to work his way into more regular minutes.

Engvall’s absence, meanwhile, will create an interesting situation in camp for some of the younger players. Joey Anderson, Nicholas Robertson, Alex Steeves, and Nicholas Abruzzese all played NHL games last season but it wasn’t clear whether there would be room for them on this year’s squad, after the Maple Leafs signed Adam Gaudette, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, and Calle Jarnkrok as free agents.

The team also brought in Zach Aston-Reese on a PTO, something that might result in a contract should Engvall miss a good chunk of time.

Toronto Maple Leafs Re-Sign Pierre Engvall

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A familiar face will be sticking around with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the club announcing forward and current RFA Pierre Engvall has been re-signed on a one-year deal. The team did not announce the financial terms of the contract, however The Athletic’s James Mirtle reports the contract is worth $2.25MM for this season. Engvall’s extension gives him a $1MM raise on the two-year, $2.5MM contract that had just expired, which carried an AAV of $1.25MM. The contract also means that both sides avoid arbitration, with the deadline for player-elected salary arbitration coming today and the club-elected deadline coming tomorrow. The contract leaves Engvall an UFA after this season.

The Swedish forward earned his raise this past season, setting career-highs in games played (78), goals (15), assists (20), and points (35), all marking substantial improvements on his previous bests. Not an overly physical player, Engvall’s size, listed at 6’5″ and 214 pounds, does allow him to use his body to create space for himself and get in position to help develop plays. Now established as a legitimate secondary-scoring threat for Toronto, Engvall can use this upcoming season to repeat and build on his 2021-22 to vault him into a longer-term contract in the free agent market next offseason as a 27-year-old.

The addition of this contract projects to put Toronto nearly $1.5MM over the salary cap ceiling (a 10% overage permissible in the offseason), but still represents a positive outcome for the organization. After Engvall’s breakout season, it was certainly possible that an arbitration could award the forward $3MM or perhaps as much as even $3.5MM for his efforts. Though that outcome was not guaranteed, it is a risk teams take when they head to arbitration, and likely the reason the team chose not to qualify forward Ondrej Kase, who is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately for the Maple Leafs, they are still not done with their RFA contracts, young defenseman Rasmus Sandin needing a new deal, although not eligible for arbitration himself.

Atlantic Notes: Maple Leafs, Richardson, Price

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are pushing on to sign some of their pending free agents, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic, who breaks down each UFA and RFA in the group. Mirtle suggests that both Ilya Mikheyev and Jack Campbell will be elsewhere next season, and examines the tricky situations that Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Kase represent as arbitration-eligible restricted free agents.

One thing he notes, and something that we wrote about recently, is the recent deal for Denis Gurianov and how it and Jack Roslovic’s extension will affect some of these older RFA negotiations. Gurianov signed a one-year, $2.9MM deal (equal to his qualifying offer) after scoring just 11 goals and 31 points this season. Kase had 14 goals in fewer games and Engvall had 35 points this season.

  • It was reported yesterday that the Chicago Blackhawks requested permission to speak with Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Luke Richardson, and today Eric Engels of Sportsnet confirms that the team has granted it. They will also allow Richardson to pursue any other head coaching opportunities that could arise this summer.
  • Engels also spoke to Carey Price, who confirmed that he is currently preparing as if he will be playing in 2022-23. Price recently had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his injured knee, though it’s not clear yet how his body will respond when training ramps up. With the uncertainty surrounding the netminder’s $10.5MM cap hit, this offseason will be a difficult path to navigate for rookie general manager Kent Hughes.

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