Toronto Maple Leafs: Checking in on the Recently Traded Pierre Engvall

Pierre Engvall’s tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs ended on February 28, when he was traded to the New York Islanders for a 2024 third round draft pick.  Let’s have a look at what he’s done with the Islanders, and revisit the reasons he was sent to New York.

The 26 year old Engvall was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the seventh round in 2014, and joined the Leafs in 2019.  Over four seasons, he was never able to establish himself as a top player, but did settle into an extreme defensive role, successfully playing against star players over the last two seasons and putting up excellent numbers.

The biggest obstacle to Engvall reaching his potential in Toronto was the backlog of high pedigree forwards in front of him.  It’s hard to make a name for yourself playing third or fourth line minutes, especially when thrust into an extreme defensive role.

On the plus side, Engvall has speed to burn, is elite defensively, is an effective penalty killer and a decent option on the second powerplay unit.  He has a hard shot, and seems to be improving in the offensive zone.  The biggest knock against Engvall is his lack of physicality, despite his size.  So why did the Toronto Maple Leafs deem him expendable?

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Pierre Engvall

With the acquisition of several forwards (O’Reilly, Acciari, Lafferty) prior to the trade deadline, the team needed to free up salary cap space.  As a pending UFA who will likely be looking for a salary increase from his current $2.25M AAV to somewhere between $3.5 and $4.0M, the cap-strapped Leafs were unlikely to re-sign Engvall this summer.

Kyle Dubas clearly felt it was better to get something of value for a player no longer in the team’s plans, than to wait until season’s end and lose him for nothing.  To this end, all parties involved appear to have come out ahead.

In 58 games this season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Engvall put up 12 goals and 9 assists for 21 points, averaging  13:07 minutes of ice time in a primarily defensive role.

With the Islanders, he’s scored 5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 17 games, and has been used for over two minutes more per game.

He was used on the Leafs second power-play unit, and has a similar role in New York, but the Leafs used him on the PK. alot and the Islanders don’t use him on their PK.

At 5v5, the Islanders use him for two minutes more per game, and he has played the most with Anders Lee, one of their best players.  Last game, he lined up on their second line with Brock. Nelson.

With the Leafs, Engvall scored at a rate of 1.53 points per 60, and in a less defensive role is over 2 points per 60 with the Islanders.

His Corsi has gone from 53% to 58%, with his shots-for remaining steady at 56%. His Expected Goals were slightly better with the Leafs *who are a much better team*, but his results in a less defensive role are much better:

The Leafs scored 48% of the total goals when Engvall was on the ice, and the Islanders have scored 65% (This is because a) he’s playing with much more offensive players, and b) he went from 33% offensive zone starts to 66%). (All stats naturalstattrick.com).

The Toronto Maple Leafs helped to restock their draft cupboard.  The New York Islanders received an immediate boost to their playoff aspirations.

Pierre Engvall himself got a fresh start with a new team, which he has (so far) taken advantage of.  If he sticks long-term with the Islanders, good for him.  If he doesn’t re-sign with New York, a strong finish to his season will help to drive up the price of a new deal somewhere else, if we’re lucky, it will be back in Toronto.

Engvall continues to put up excellent results, and is scoring more in a less unforgiving role.  He was underrated in Toronto, and is having a fantastic run with the Islanders.