Islanders make a smart depth move, acquire Engvall
The Islanders announced Tuesday night that they made a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on the 4 year anniversary of John Tavares’ Long Island return. The Islanders acquired LW/RW Pierre Engvall in exchange for a 2024 3rd round pick.
Acquiring Engvall is a great depth move for the Islanders and Lamoriello is familiar with him during his time as the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lou is making it clear that he is not selling at this year's NHL trade deadline. This is Lamoriello’s second trade ahead of Friday's 3pm deadline.
Engvall is a left shooting guy who typically falls on the Maple Leafs 3rd line. He’s 6’5”, 220 lbs and has 21 points in 58 games played this season.
Engvall is currently signed until the end of this season, he will become a UFA on July 1st if he's not re-signed before then, his current deal is a 1-year, $2.25M deal. Engvall has 83 points in 226 NHL games, all with Toronto. He wasn't able to make it to Minnesota in time to play on Tuesday, he will make his debut on Saturday vs. Detroit at UBS Arena.
MY OPINION:
I’m a big fan of this move, a great depth piece for the Islanders as they push for the playoffs, especially because the Isles didn't give up much. Especially with the injuries the Islanders have dealt with these past few weeks, this is a great move made by Lamoriello.
VIDEOS:
QUOTES:
“I can’t overemphasize his speed.”
-Lamoriello on Engvall
“He’s certainly an individual that you’d like to keep in your organization with the style he plays and his speed.”
-Lamoriello on an Engvall extension
“Pierre is a very versatile player. He’ll bring a dimension that he can play any one of the forward positions, and probably his biggest asset is his skating ability”
-Lamoriello on Engvall
“He’s got a long reach, being 6'5'', 220.”
-Lamoriello on Engvall
“We’re extremely pleased”
-Lamoriello on acquiring Engvall
“We’ll take one thing at a time”
-Lamoriello on an Engvall extension
“Well, I think it’s my job to give our group the best chance to have success”
-Lou Lamoriello