New York Islanders forward Pierre Engvall will be reporting to the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL after he went through waivers unclaimed (as per Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News). The news is hardly surprising given that failure to report could lead to contract termination and Engvall has six years and $18MM remaining on his contract.
Although he will make his full $3MM salary in the AHL, Engvall will count just $1.85MM against the Islanders salary cap while in the AHL. The 28-year-old’s play fell off a bit last season but wasn’t far off from his production in the two seasons prior. He posted 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games last season, which was the first year of the seven-year deal he signed with the Islanders in July 2023.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- The Philadelphia Flyers are taking defenseman Nick Seeler’s injury day by day as the ailment is taking longer to heal than the team originally expected (as per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philly). Seeler could miss the Flyers season opener on Friday against the Canucks as he deals with numbness in his leg. The 31-year-old took a shot to the knee last Wednesday in a preseason game against the Bruins and he still doesn’t have the feeling back a week later. If Seeler is unable to play on Friday it seems likely that veteran Erik Johnson will take his place in the lineup.
- New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce skated today with the team in a regular jersey but remains unlikely to play on Thursday night (as per Devils reporter Gabriel Trevino). The 28-year-old missed the Devils first two games of the season in Prague but the team had hoped he’d be ready for October 10th. However, given the words of head coach Sheldon Keefe, it does seem like Pesce won’t be available. Keefe told the media that neither player is ready to play at this point, leaving New Jersey without one of their big summer additions for a third straight game.