Toronto Maple Leafs: Could Pierre Engvall Injury Lead to a Trade?

The unfortunate timing of getting injured ahead of the season could possibly spell the end of Pierre Engvall’s time with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Now, this is not to say that he won’t have a fair chance to crack the Toronto Maple Leafs roster when he returns from injury, but right now it’s a tough squad to crack.

The task of making the team isn’t going to get any easier as the current group of players, new recruits and all, start to gel and understand the systems required of them.

Beyond that, the Toronto Maple Leafs also have a plethora of options available to them that ultimately would be cheaper than keeping hold of Pierre Engvall at $2.25 million against the cap (per CapFriendly).

Engvall Could Still Make Toronto Maple Leafs Opening Night Roster

As reported by David Alter of Sports Illustrated, Engvall is set to be re-evaluated by the Toronto Maple Leafs medical staff on October 3rd. That would still give him a few pre-season fixtures to get up to speed.

In turn, it’d have a knock-on effect across the team’s roster, not least because they are currently running at $1.5 million above the salary cap (with Rasmus Sandin unsigned).

Of course, they will start the season with Timothy Liljegren likely on long-term injured reserve and thus they’re really only $100,000 over to begin the season, though that doesn’t remain off the cap all year.

Anyhow, on the basis of their first pre-season fixtures with the Ottawa Senators, professional try-out Zach Aston-Reese is pushing for a chance on this roster and would no doubt sign a cheap deal to make it happen.

Such is the competition for line-up spots, even Pierre Engvall’s break-out 35-point campaign might not be enough to keep him in Toronto, despite being a late-round drafted and developed success story.

Engvall’s injury status and the fact he’s missing the start of training camp has opened up the path for the likes of Denis Malgin, Adam Gaudette, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and the aforementioned Aston-Reese to essentially audition for his roster spot, on cheaper deals.

Add in that Wayne Simmonds doesn’t seem ready to give up another shot in the NHL yet and it’s a really competitive field that Engvall is going to have to clear just to maintain his spot from last year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs might be backing themselves into a corner here where to keep themselves under the salary cap, Pierre Engvall needs to be moved.

It is the unfortunate facts of the Leafs current salary cap situation; there isn’t much wiggle room and a poorly-timed injury could prove the difference-maker between staying on the roster and not.