Pierre Engvall is back in the picture for the Islanders, but the path in front of him is anything but clear.
New general manager Mathieu Darche said yesterday that the 30-year-old forward is healthy and will be at training camp. That alone is a major development after Engvall missed all of last season, first because of offseason hip surgery that later turned into an ankle repair in October.
It’s been a long, bumpy run since Lou Lamoriello gave Engvall that surprising seven-year deal on July 1, 2023. In his first season under the new contract, Engvall never really found a groove.
He was scratched early, bounced in and out of the lineup, and finished with 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games. Even then, there were questions about whether he had a real role going forward.
Those questions only got louder the following fall. Anthony Duclair and Maxim Tsyplakov both turned heads in camp and won roster spots over him. Then, on October 6, 2024, Lamoriello put Engvall on waivers just 15 months after signing him to a seven-year, $21 million contract.
Engvall did get another look when Duclair was injured early in the season and he was recalled from Bridgeport. But the stretch that followed didn’t help his case.
He played one game, then sat for four straight. A week later, amid more healthy scratches, Patrick Roy made his stance pretty clear in Buffalo: "When he plays on the outside, I'm not as crazy about him.
Hopefully, this will send the message. There's a player we want, and that's a guy who's around the net.
He brings so much speed and so much skill, there's no reason for him to not be able to do that."
Roy eventually sent Engvall back into the lineup on New York’s second line with Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri for a home game against Seattle, but that night went sideways fast. The Islanders were outshot 17-5 while Engvall was on the ice in a 5-2 loss at UBS.
He logged 12:01 and finished minus-1, then was scratched again in Carolina. By the end of that season, he had 13 healthy scratches and just eight goals and seven assists in 62 games.
Last fall brought another setback before the season even began. Darche said Engvall had hip surgery and would not be ready for opening night, though he was rehabbing on the ice.
Three weeks later, Darche said an ankle issue had flared during that rehab and another surgery was needed. His season was over before it started.
Now the story resets. Engvall is healthy, he’s available, and under Darche and new head coach Pete DeBoer, there’s at least a fresh chance to make something stick. The problem is figuring out where he fits.
The Islanders have already replaced Anders Lee’s roster spot with Matias Maccelli, and Roy had been blunt about Engvall not being able to handle a bottom-six role. DeBoer will be hoping for something different, because Engvall’s mix of size, speed and skill has always looked better on paper than in execution.
Camp is set to open in two weeks, and the competition is real. Rookies Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman are among the players pushing for jobs, while the center spots appear set with Bo Horvat and Mat Barzal as the top two, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas essentially locked into the bottom two lines. That leaves the wings as the real battleground.
Cal Ritchie can play center, but the Islanders used him on Barzal’s wing last season and had success there. Simon Holmstrom looks like the only sure thing on one of the wings next to Barzal or Horvat. After that, the list gets crowded fast: Kyle Palmieri, Brayden Schenn, Matias Maccelli, Emil Heineman, Anthony Duclair, Ondrej Palat, Kyle Maclean, Victor Eklund and Engvall all have their names in the mix.
There are six spots for nine players. Something is going to have to give.
For Engvall, that leaves a tough climb. He has the tools to get attention from a new coaching staff, but the question remains whether he can do the job they need from a bottom-six winger. The Islanders had the option to buy him out this summer and didn’t, which at least suggests they’re willing to give him another shot.
If it doesn’t work, waivers and another AHL assignment remain possible. With the contract attached, though, that’s hardly an easy outcome for anyone involved.
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