Pierre Engvall could be used in a number of ways by Islanders
Pierre Engvall #47 of the Toronto Maple Leafs scores a goal in the first period during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on April 04, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann
Pierre Engvall’s first on-ice meeting with his new teammates comes Thursday, giving coach Lane Lambert two practices to figure out how best to integrate the versatile forward into the Islanders’ lineup.
The 26-year-old Swede was acquired from the Maple Leafs on Tuesday for a third-round pick in 2024 but could not make it to St. Paul, Minnesota, in time for the Islanders’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Wild that night. The team did not practice on Wednesday and next plays against the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon at UBS Arena.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday afternoon and president/general manager Lou Lamoriello may still consider adding to his defense depth. He’s made it clear he’s not a seller.
“He’s got great speed and he’s got good size so he’s certainly going to help,” Lambert said of Engvall. “We’ll go over that. [He’s got] versatility. We look forward to getting him in the fold.”
Top-line playmaker Mathew Barzal (lower body) remains out week to week and third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau (upper body) just resumed skating on his own. Forwards Oliver Wahlstrom (lower body) and Cal Clutterbuck (upper body) remain out indefinitely.
There’s a good chance the 6-5, 219-pound, left-shooting Engvall, who can play all three forward positions and had 12 goals and nine assists in 58 games with the Maple Leafs this season, gets his first opportunity with the Islanders skating on Bo Horvat’s top line with left wing Anders Lee.
Lambert has used both rookie Simon Holmstrom and Matt Martin on the trio in Barzal’s absence but neither have the consistent finishing skills required for the top line.
The Islanders are thin at center until Pageau returns. Casey Cizikas has been centering the third line while Otto Koivula and Andy Andreoff have been brought up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport to center the fourth line. Lambert could opt to put Cizikas back on the fourth line and use Engvall in the middle on the third line until Pageau is ready.
More will become clear at Thursday’s practice.
The Islanders are just happy Lamoriello, who made his big move early in acquiring Horvat from the Canucks on Jan. 30, has added to the roster to help the team’s playoff push.
“That’s what you want as a professional athlete,” Martin said. “You want your general manager to give you a chance to win a Cup. He’s doing that. He’s done that every year since he’s been here. A lot of us in this room aren’t getting any younger. We want to win and we want to win now and we’ll take all the help we can get in order to do that.
“Every day of the week I’ll take the GM who adds over the one who subtracts. At the end of the day, you want to be playing important hockey and play playoff hockey and, ultimately, win the Cup. We have an opportunity to make a run and get ourselves into the dance and go from there.”
Notes & quotes: Goalie Tristan Lennox, a third-round pick in 2021, agreed to a three-year, entry-level deal.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
