Pierre Engvall loses his job; NY Islanders place forward and seven others on waivers

The writing had been on the wall for days.

Pierre Engvall was an odd-man on the New York Islanders opening night roster. After skating with the extras in recent days and being a healthy scratch in the preseason finale versus the New York Rangers on Friday, the 28-year-old was among seven players placed on waivers Sunday.

Also on waivers were forwards Hudson Fasching, Liam Foudy, and Frederik Karlstrom. On defense, Samuel Bolduc and Grant Hutton, who had been battling for the seventh defenseman job, hit the waiver wire, along with goaltenders Marcus Hogberg and Jakub Skarek. Hogberg being placed on waivers indicates that Ilya Sorokin is set to start the season.

Engvall, who the Islanders acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a third-round draft pick at the 2023 trade deadline, signed a seven-year contract extension on July 1 with a $3M AAV cap hit before last season. As had been the case throughout his career in Toronto, he continued to be a puzzling player, showing flashes of potential that were too often mixed with a lack of effort or poor decision-making. That led to him being a healthy scratch on multiple occasions under both head coaches, first Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy. In 74 games, he had ten goals and 18 assists last season.

GM Lou Lamoriello spoke with the media about the decision on Sunday and simplified the decision as one where Engvall lost his top-six job to Maxim Tsyplakov and the speedy Engvall isn't a fit on the two lines. "It's not that he did anything wrong, but he basically lost the job at this point," explained Lamoriello per The Hockey News. "He is not a bottom-six player."

Due to his contract, viewed as a head-scratcher across the league, Engvall is unlikely to be claimed by another team. The Islanders can also bury up to $1.15 million of his contract. The extra cap flexibility will allow the Islanders to keep Oliver Wahlstrom on their roster to start the season. The former first-round pick would have been more likely to be claimed off waivers. Julien Gauthier also appears to have made the team out of camp.