Flyers Trade
Islanders Flop Makes for a Strong Flyers Trade Target
Despite being placed on waivers by the New York Islanders and subsequently clearing them without being claimed, flop free agent signing Pierre Engvall would actually make for a great Philadelphia Flyers trade target.
Some of you may read this and say, ‘Well, he was just on waivers. Why wouldn’t they just get him for free?’
That is a valid point, but from a logistical standpoint, it doesn’t work. Engvall is in Year 2 of the seven-year, $21 million ($3 million AAV) contract he signed with the Islanders on July 1, 2023.
And yes, he was cut from the roster entirely after one year.
The Flyers don’t have that kind of money to be able to take Engvall for free; after terminating Ryan Johansen’s contract, a situation that is still being worked out from a legal perspective, the Flyers have only $2.2 million in cap space.
Should the Flyers trade for Pierre Engvall?
So, why would the Flyers trade for a guy who was put out there for free one year into a seven-year contract?
Although he doesn’t effectively use his size, Pierre Engvall is actually 6-foot-5. The Flyers are one of the NHL’s shortest and lightest teams, so the Swedish winger would be a boost there.
Plus, Flyers head coach John Tortorella might be able to unlock something more from Engvall. I wouldn’t compare Owen Tippett to Garnet Hathaway, but Tippett has started to throw his weight around more under Tortorella, especially on the forecheck.
As a fellow speed demon, Engvall could wreak some serious havoc if he learns to harness his gifts. Plus, his combination of size and speed is something that players like Scott Laughton, Noah Cates, Nick Deslauriers, and Ryan Poehling don’t have.
Additionally, the 28-year-old is an analytics darling who has almost always made his teammates better at both ends of the ice.
JFresh Hockey, a statistician who is known for visualizing analytics data collected by Top Down Hockey, was stunned that Engvall hit waivers in the first place.
On aggregate, over the last three seasons, Engvall has a wins-above-replacement value of 74% (out of 100), buoyed by his even strength offense ranking of 90% and even strength defense ranking of 92%.
A little surprised to see Engvall on waivers despite the contract. Guy is by no means a perfect player and yeah, he is very soft for his size, but his results last year – both outscoring opponents and fancier stuff – were very strong. pic.twitter.com/8Abt2dp2hd
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 6, 2024
Engvall’s finishing only graded out at an average 50%, and his power play impacts were even worse at 10%. But, at the end of the day, Engvall just isn’t the offensive savant you’d like to see involved in a Flyers trade.
He’s still a useful player, though.
So what would a potential Flyers trade look like?
Well, the Flyers can’t take on the whole salary without sending something back, nor can the Islanders take a lot in return. At least, not yet.
Engvall’s cap hit is currently $1.85 million as he’s buried in the AHL, and even that leaves New York with only $2 million in cap space. A player like Noah Cates, a pending RFA with a $2.625 million cap hit, would make sense for the Islanders.
The Flyers would have to retain some salary in that specific instance, but getting a cost-controlled, effective bottom-sixer like Engvall would be beneficial given the fact that Cates’s spot in the lineup has been taken by Jett Luchanko, at least for now.
And, for helping the Islanders out of an albatross contract, the Flyers could probably ask for a good draft pick or two to sweeten the pot.
As long as Tortorella and the Flyers can find a place for Engvall, the contract is not a concern, especially given that he is very fast and an objectively good hockey player.
Engvall is an upgrade over much of the Flyers’ current bottom-six and will carry some long-term value, too.
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Keep dreaming, more like the Islanders will have to give up a second.round pick and retain half the salary for someone to take him.
They won’t have to retain half on a guy who’s already not making a lot of money. But yes, a solid draft pick like a second-rounder makes sense if they want to try and dump him somewhere.
The guy 2 /3 years ago looked like he was coming on when he was on the Leafs…..and only getting 13 minutes TOI per game as a 3rd or 4th line guy. He could be a serviceable pick-up.
The problem is if it doesn’t work you have a stiff in your lineup for SIX YEARS.
That’s also true. My hypothetical obviously is one where it works, but there’s never a guarantee like that in the NHL.
I would punt. If the contract was for 3 or 4 years, but having it be 6 years at 3 million just to get some more size in your lineup equates a hard pass for me
i was thinking something similar when he was let go. 3 million is not a huge cap hit for an effective 3rd liner. Throw him out there on the PK and 3rd line. After all this team gave Noah Cates 2.65 and his game went backward last year
Yep, the way I look at it is that $3 million isn’t a whole lot for a bottom-sixer anymore (especially a good one), and he’s locked into that price for quite a few years. If he was at least an average player for the Flyers in his role, that’s a huge win. Saves you some money and probably nets you a draft pick, too.
It seems Bailey is always enthused about picking up other teams rejects and portraying them as being better than they actually are. I’ve seen Engvall play for years and I for one remained totally unimpressed. His age and length of contract do not fit in with Briere’s stated intention of getting younger and more dynamic players. Bailey – I’m glad you aren’t the GM of the Flyers, you know nothing about hockey.
You’re entitled to that opinion. Teams don’t usually have “dynamic” players playing on the third or fourth line, and you can’t build a contender of 23 guys who are 20 years old. Briere himself said that he wants to build a team with different types of players, so, whatever makes you happy!
The team is still trying to determine who within the organization is going to be a part of the core going forward. Neither this season, nor next is one to bring in players from outside, let alone a reclamation project who hasn’t been able to stick with 2 other good teams. Come one Jonathan, as someone who covers the team, it would be nice if you could at least seem like you have an understanding of where the team currently sits within its “rebuild” instead of throwing out pointless hypotheticals like this. I’m surprised you haven’t suggested that the Flyers try to talk Bellemare out of retirement to bring him back. Just like you thought it would be a good idea for them to bring back “I skate in mud” van Riemsdyk. Come on man, do better.
Well, Bellemare didn’t get a contract and JVR did. I suggested JVR as a depth forward or camp body to push the young guys for ice time, which is what he is now doing in Columbus. I laid out where Engvall would fit in a rebuild pretty clearly, so if you disagree, you’re entitled to that. And, like I added towards the end, the Isles would likely have to pay an asset just to get the Flyers or another team to take the contract. If Engvall is at least average, I fail to see how that functionally hurts the “rebuild” (which isn’t real) in any way.