I think this is enough, and considering that the same price was just paid for Marcus Johansen, this NYI fan is pretty happy with the deal. NYI desperately needed to get Otto Koivula out of the lineup - he's simply too slow to play at the NHL level. I imagine Engvall may start off playing center until Pageau is back. Then he could slot on either Horvat's or Pageau's wing.
The other side of this deal is that NYI need to rebuild their bottom-6. Maybe if things work out, they can resign him for something reasonable.
Engvall is exactly the kind of player this Islander team needed. We don't need any more tough guys, checkers, two way players. They simply needed speed and someone who can help with their transition game. Once Leddy left the team no longer looked like the team that made the Eastern Conference Finals because they couldn't get the puck out of the zone. They don't need a goal scorer or even a playmaker just someone who could carry the puck into the O zone with speed. By all accounts this is what this guy brings. Though he does bring in some depth scoring as well.
Here's a good article by The Hockey Writers that emulates exactly Isles fans have been saying these past couple of days in regards to the trade.
Hockey Writers
Lou could not emphasize enough about the speed that Engvall brings to the Islanders. “He’s certainly an individual that you’d like to keep in your organization with the style he plays and his speed. I can’t overemphasize his speed.”
The Isles are not about acquiring as many star players as a team can and hope it all works out like the Rangers and Leafs have in recent times. They are about building a balanced
team and going far in the playoffs. I would say however that Leaf's acquisition of Schenn was a good move but the team is getting older and older by the trade while the Isles are getting younger and younger. This bodes well for the long term for the Islanders. I have to hand it to Lou. I thought the old guy lost it. He's showing good asset management here with his recent trades.
I think if Lamiorello didn't have connections with Dubas et al. that this trade would have happened at all. Doesn't make any sense for the Leafs. Why help the Isles shore up their weaknesses right before the playoffs or even looking at the long term? Surely they could have found another trade partner in the West.
