ELMONT, NY — Whether he was the first choice of his head coach and general manager or not, Pierre Engvall is back in the NHL with the New York Islanders attempting to prove that he can stick around.
After being waived before the start of the regular season and being demoted to the team’s AHL affiliate in Bridgeport in the second year of his seven-year contract, Engvall got the call back up to the pros when first-line winger Anthony Duclair was placed on LTIR with a lower-body injury.
“It was tough but you can only control what you can control,” Engvall said. “I’m just happy to be back and just do my best.”
The 28-year-old winger fell out of favor with head coach Patrick Roy during the preseason after recording a minus-5 rating in two games. The speedy middle-six winger made his season debut on Saturday in New York’s 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers, where he recorded 10:37 of ice time on the fourth line.
He was there again during Monday’s morning skate alongside Kyle MacLean and Hudson Fasching, who slotted in for Matt Martin — a clear indication that the Islanders are throwing everything they can at the wall to see what sticks when it comes to their 11th and 12th forwards.
“I won’t lie, spot No. 11 and 12, we don’t feel comfortable yet with the guys, and we’re going to try until we find the guys that we are comfortable with,” Roy said on Monday. “We’re going to give Pierre another shot tomorrow and see how it goes.”
As to what he wants to see from Engvall, Roy harped on the desire to “compete, bring pucks to the net, win battles… stuff like this.”
Engvall scored five goals with four assists in 18 games with the Islanders after he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the 2023 trade deadline. It prompted general manager Lou Lamoriello to give him that seven-year deal in hopes of unlocking a perennial 20-goal scorer (he scored a career-best 17 in 2022-23).
But he only mustered 10 goals with 18 assists in 74 games last season, and the preseason did little to inspire confidence in his new coach.
When asked if this would provide a chip on his shoulder, Engvall said, “You could say it like that.”
“I was ready to come back up,” he said. “I’ve been ready the whole time, so right now, I’m ready too. I want to play. I want to help the team win… If you’re scratched, you want to be back in and if you get sent down, you want to get back up and start playing again.”
