Pierre Engvall wants to go five better next season.
After scoring 15 goals in 78 games in 2021-22, the Maple Leafs winger, who re-signed with the club on Sunday, has set his sights a little higher.
“I hope and I think that I can score 20 goals,” Engvall said on Tuesday in a Zoom call from his off-season home in Halmstad, Sweden. “I will definitely do my best to prepare this summer and get back as good as I can be for next season.
“It feels really good to be back in Toronto. I’m excited to get back there and have a really good year.”
Considering what the Leafs have lost at forward since the middle of May, when they were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the team’s front office has to be pleased with Engvall’s line of thinking.
A total of 49 goals from the forward group have disappeared into the hot summer air.
Ilya Mikheyev parlayed a career-high 21 goals into a cushy four-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks; Ondrej Kase, gone to the Carolina Hurricanes on a one-year deal, managed to score 14 goals despite missing more than 30 games with injuries; Jason Spezza had 12 goals in what turned out to be his final National Hockey League season before retiring; and Colin Blackwell, who moved on to the Chicago Blackhawks in free agency, scored two after being acquired from the Seattle Kraken.
In response, Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas initially had to go on the cheap, signing Nicholas Aube-Kubel and Adam Gaudette, who scored a total of 16 goals last season. Dubas then got Calle Jarnkrok on a four-year contract, though the 30-year-old wasn’t hired to fill the net. Jarnkrok’s career high is 16 goals, something he accomplished twice, and last season he didn’t score once in 17 games with the Calgary Flames after he was involved in a trade with Seattle.
There are not many reasons why the 26-year-old Engvall can’t hit 20 goals. His trust in himself grew last season as he blossomed with 35 points (after recording 27 in 90 games in his previous two NHL seasons combined), and there’s going to be a bit of a carrot when 2022-23 starts.
Once his new one-year, $2.25-million US contract ends, Engvall will be an unrestricted free agent. At 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, the strapping Engvall could be that much more productive if he continues to realize his physical strengths and adds more of a robust element to his game. It certainly would serve the Leafs well.
“I think I took some steps last year,” Engvall said. “I got to play more and I think I grew with the role, my confidence got better and I started to do more on the ice.
“Specifically on the ice, I like to have the puck, so I want to skate a lot with the puck and make plays, but I also want to make it hard for the other guys out there to play against me.”
Dubas still has to clear some space, as the Leafs are approximately $1.5-million over the salary cap and still have to get defenceman Rasmus Sandin’s signature on a new contract. It could be that forward Alex Kerfoot and his $3.5-million hit are moved. If that happens, Engvall could get a shot in the top six. If not, Engvall settles into a third-line role with, in all likelihood, David Kampf and Jarnkrok.
“I don’t know (Jarnkrok) personally, but he’s a great player and I’m really happy to have him on the team,” Engvall said. “I would love to play with him. I think he’s a smart player and also has some grit for the game. I think we can play good together.”
The Leafs, meanwhile, are mourning the loss of Larry Jeffrey, who played in two seasons with Toronto, winning the Cup in 1967. Jeffrey recently passed away at the age of 81.
Post a Comment