NY Islanders' Pierre Engvall A Non-Factor In 2024-25

It’s generally not a good thing when your seven-year $21,000,000 forward gets sent to the AHL by year two of that very same contract, but that’s exactly what happened to Pierre Engvall. Just one season after inking his big deal, Engvall found himself sent to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. 

Engvall has done little to impress Head Coach Patrick Roy during the duration of the contract. He has only suited up for 38 of the Islanders’ 55 games, at the Four Nation Face-Off break. In those games, he’s recorded seven points and is a -5. He would not be playing currently if not for the injuries to names like Mat Barzal, Hudson Fasching and Anthony Duclair. 

Roy sees the skill in Engvall, but he disagrees with how the forward chooses to play

"When he plays his best, he goes to the net like he did before…When he plays on the outside, I'm not as crazy about him. Hopefully this will send the message. There's a player we want, and that's a guy who's around the net. He brings so much speed and so much skill, there's no reason for him to not be able to do that.
"

Patrick Roy

Engvall has not driven the net enough for Roy’s liking. It makes sense from Roy’s perspective, too. Engvall stands 6”5’ and weighs 215 pounds. A guy like that should be an absolute nightmare when skating downhill, but that’s not the way Engvall wants to play. 

Sometimes, Engvall flashes the skill that made the Islanders lock him up for seven years to begin with. But he has not done that nearly enough to earn a regular spot in the lineup.  

Analytics are equally as unimpressed with Engvall. Hockeystatcards.com gives him a net rating of -6.2, lower than the 25th percentile of all NHL forwards. By and large, he’s been a net neutral at best.
The contract is beginning to look more and more like an unmitigated disaster for Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello

I think Patrick Roy said it best (via Ethan Sears at the New York Post)

"It’s sad, but right now, there’s guys playing better than him. They’re probably not as talented as he is, but they’re playing better than he is."

Patrick Roy

Overall Grade: D-