Now is right time for Islanders to buy out Engvall

One of the hottest topics at the moment is the current buyout window. Teams around the league have an opportunity to seemingly erase undesired contracts from their books in order to clear cap space and open up roster spots.

The New York Islanders are not immune to troublesome contracts. In fact, one that stands out is Pierre Engvall’s. When former GM Lou Lamoriello signed the 30-year-old to a seven-year, $21 million contract, more than a few eyebrows were raised.

Here was a depth forward who got a massive commitment from the organization. Unfortunately, the deal has not aged very well. Engvall went from 10 goals and 28 points in 74 games in his first full season in Long Island to eight goals and 15 points in 62 contests. This past season, Engvall missed the entire season with an ankle injury.

Now, his deal has become a burden on the organization. While the Isles could keep him on LTIR, assuming he can’t play, the organization’s best bet is to buy him out.

As it stands, the Isles would be on the hook for $3 million over the next four seasons. Unless Engvall plays and lives up to his cap hit, those $3 million would basically become dead cap space.

Additionally, sending him down to the AHL would only save about $1 million, leaving $2 million on the cap. While trading him could still be an option, the chances of that happening are a bit slim. Perhaps a team looking to hit the cap floor might be willing to take on his contract.

That’s why a buyout actually makes sense. If the Islanders bought Engvall out now, before the official end of the 2025-26 season, the club would be on the hook for eight more seasons at $1 million per annum.

According to PuckPedia’s calculations, Engvall, 30, is due 67% of the remaining value of his contract, $12 million. That works out to $8 million that the Isles would be on the hook for. Since there are four years left on his deal, the remaining $8 million gets spread out over those eight seasons, working out to $1 million per season.

That’s a total savings of $2 million per year over the next four seasons, with $1 million in dead cap space. The rising cap will make the dead cap space immaterial, especially with the ceiling expected to hit $123 million in 2028-29.

Ultimately, the best time to buy Engvall out is now. Unless the Islanders want to give him one more chance to prove he can play, the best thing would be to cut bait now. However, the cost of waiting one more year would be $2 million, cap space that could go towards finding another piece to round out the roster.

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