The road back for Pierre Engvall to the New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are set to face off against the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday night at the UBS Arena. Excitement has built up, leading to the most anticipated moment of puck drop to officially open the season.

With the start of a new season, comes the opportunity for a fresh start. The Isles start the season in first place (albeit tied with everyone else). The new season allows newcomers to show they were the right choices.

For players like Maxim Tsyplakov and Anthony Duclair, Wednesday night begins an 82-game tour to show the New York Islanders were right to bring them homes.

But amid the fanfare of the new season, questions loom. One such question is: Is there a road back for Pierre Engvall to the New York Islanders?

On the whole, yes. There is a road for Engvall to come back to The Island. Engvall has an opportunity to show that he belongs in the NHL, specifically under Patrick Roy’s system. He can report to Bridgeport and get set on becoming the type of player that fits the New York Islanders’ current persona.

That’s possible only if Engvall is willing to go through that process. Otherwise, Engvall’s choices come down to two. These options in essence are a trade or playing out his contract in the AHL.

A realistic possibility for the New York Islanders to trade Pierre Engvall

On the whole, the chances of trading Pierre Engvall are rather slim for the New York Islanders. His value is at an all-time low. As such, finding a trade partner for Engvall might be challenging. Perhaps a team like the Columbus Blue Jackets might be willing to take on Engvall’s contract just to make the cap floor.

The argument for the Blue Jackets taking on Engvall could be the lack of experienced players who could help Columbus turn things around.

But a realistic possibility could be joining the New Jersey Devils. There is some history between Engvall and Devils’ coach Sheldon Keefe. Keefe and Engvall’s history goes back to the Toronto Marlies. At the time, Keefe coached the Marlies as Engvall was coming up through the system.

When Keefe was promoted to the head coaching position of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Engvall immediately followed him to the NHL. Unfortunately, Engvall became a cap casualty for the Leafs, triggering the deal with the New York Islanders.

Fast-forward to today, and it seems like a reunion with Sheldon Keefe could be Engvall’s best option. Perhaps allowing Engvall to reunite with his former coach could give him a fresh start and resume his NHL career.

What a trade between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Islanders involving Pierre Engvall would look like is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the Isles can get a draft pick out of it. Just getting partial cap relief would be something worth considering.

Ultimately, Engvall’s road back to The Island is a challenging one. While there’s no ruling out Engvall could join the team once again, the odds are stacked against him. Perhaps getting a fresh start elsewhere could be what Engvall needs to get his career back on track.