Pierre Engvall, Samuel Bolduc, Six Other Islanders Clear Waivers
Pierre Engvall and seven other players cleared waivers on Monday, meaning they will remain in the organization and be sent to Bridgeport.
Lou Lamoriello waived Engvall, fellow forwards Hudson Fasching, Liam Foudy and Frederick Karlstrom, defensemen Samuel Bolduc and Grant Hutton, and goaltenders Marcus Hogberg and Jakob Skarek on Sunday, leaving the Islanders with a 22-man roster entering the regular season.
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The Islanders ripped the Band-Aid off, waiving Engvall just over a year after Lamoriello signed the forward to a seven-year, $21 million contract.
A strong camp from Maxim Tsyplakov pushed Engvall down the depth chart, and Lamoriello and Patrick Roy did not think Engvall was a fit in the bottom-six.
“I think that what happened, simplistically, is that he’s a top-six, top-nine forward, and [Tsyplakov] earned his way into that role, and basically, we have to make the best decisions for the best lineup we can put together,” Lamoriello told the media Sunday. “It’s as simple as that. It’s not that he did anything wrong, but he basically lost the job at this point. He is not a bottom-six player.”
The Islanders will get $1.15 million in salary cap savings by burying Engvall’s contract in the AHL, and they will enter the regular season with just over $200,000 in cap space.
Oliver Wahlstrom made the team over Engvall, and he will likely start the year on the fourth line with Casey Cizikas and Kyle MacLean. The 24-year-old has a great shot, a physical edge and a good motor. Lamoriello chose to gave Wahlstrom one more chance to become an NHL regular — now it is up to the 2018 first-round pick to prove his general manager right.
Julien Gauthier also made the final roster after a really strong training camp, earning the 13th forward spot over Fasching, Foudy and Karlstrom. Fasching and Foudy project as the first forward options to be called up to the NHL, so if there is an injury or early struggles from Wahlstrom or Gauthier, they might not be in Bridgeport for long.
Bolduc entered camp as the favorite to earn the seventh defenseman spot, but was outplayed by Cholowski and Hutton over the last few weeks. Cholowski will begin the season as the team’s seventh defenseman, while Bolduc and Hutton will stay sharp in Bridgeport.
Perhaps the most impactful decision made Sunday was in net. With Hogberg and Skarek both being waived, Ilya Sorokin will be on the opening night roster — and not on long-term injured reserve.
Sorokin had back surgery this offseason and missed over a week of camp. His status for the regular season was in doubt just a few days ago, but Sorokin practiced with his teammates for the first time Thursday and did not appear limited. After practice, the 29-year-old goalie told the media he would do “everything to be ready” for his team’s opener against the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday. He may not start, but he will at least be on the roster and dressed.
Hogberg will begin the year as the starting goalie in Bridgeport, and Skarek will back him up.
Matt Martin will remain on a professional tryout offer with the Islanders, allowing him to practice and travel with the team. He can stay on the tryout offer until the trade deadline, when the team will either need to cut the veteran forward or sign him to a contract. If the Islanders want Martin to play in a game before the deadline, they will need to sign him to a deal.
“He will not be signed at this point right away. It will be a situation where he will continue to practice, and we’ll make whatever decisions have to be made at the appropriate time,” Lamoriello said.
There were many other notable names waived across the NHL Sunday, but one transaction stood out. The Penguins waived Sebastian Aho, who they signed to a two-year contract this summer. Aho played parts of five seasons with the Islanders after being drafted by the organization in 2017. The 28-year-old defenseman cleared waivers and will begin the season in the AHL.
As things currently stand, the projected opening night roster for the Islanders is below:
Duclair-Horvat-Barzal
Tsyplakov-Nelson-Palmieri
Lee-Pageau-Holmstrom
Cizikas-MacLean-Wahlstrom
Gauthier
Romanov-Dobson
Pelech-Pulock
Reilly-Mayfield
Cholowski
Varlamov
Sorokin
Featured image courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
