Islanders waive Pierre Engvall with $18 million left on contract in stunner

The Islanders’ roster news came with a stunner.

Pierre Engvall, who still has six years and $18 million left on his contract, was among those placed on waivers as the Islanders jettisoned a number of players to get down to 22 on the roster.

If he clears waivers, which is likely, the 28-year-old Engvall will start the season in AHL Bridgeport.

Engvall had 10 goals and 18 assists in 74 games last season.

Ideally, the Islanders would find a trade partner for Engvall — the Ducks or Blue Jackets, for example, could easily absorb his salary — but his 16-team no-trade list combined with the time left on his deal makes that unlikely.

At minimum, it means another team could easily demand the Islanders attach a pick to Engvall in a deal, which could make a trade unpalatable.

“I think what happened, simplistically, is that he’s a top-six, top-nine forward, and Maxim Tsyplakov earned his way into that role, and basically, we have to make the best decisions for the best lineup we can put together,” general manager Lou Lamoriello told reporters after Sunday’s open practice, per The Hockey News. “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.”

Though he had a bad training camp and had been clearly beaten out by others, Engvall’s contract appeared to make it more likely that he would start the season as a healthy scratch, with the chance to make it back into the fold soon.

Instead, Lamoriello and Patrick Roy decided to place a premium on accountability and make an example of Engvall, who put forth an inconsistent effort level throughout last season and during camp, by sending him down.

Hudson Fasching, Fredrik Karlstrom, Liam Foudy, Samuel Bolduc, Grant Hutton, Marcus Hogberg and Jakub Skarek were placed on waivers, as well.

That means Julien Gauthier, Oliver Wahlstrom and Dennis Cholowski will start the season on the roster, which can only fit 22 players because the Islanders are up against the salary cap.

If the Islanders can move Engvall’s salary, it would open up space for a 23rd player.

But for now, they can only bury $1.15 million of his $3 million salary in the AHL.

The plan is also for Matt Martin, who is on a PTO, to stay on his contract and practice with the Islanders.

At the start of camp, Engvall was not even considered to be fighting for a spot.

Though he was made a healthy scratch under both Lane Lambert and Patrick Roy, he spent much of the year on the second line, mixing moments of effectiveness with long stretches of inconsistency.

He started camp on the third line with Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau — a trio that had success when together in the playoffs — and Roy talked about wanting to keep them together.

But after Engvall was left out of a dress rehearsal preseason game against the Flyers on Monday, it looked like he would need to fight for an opening-night lineup spot.

It turned out, he needed to fight for a roster spot — and he lost.

Along with the 16-team no-trade clause, it is a near guarantee that Engvall will not be claimed on waivers.

If it wasn’t already, his contract will now go down as one of the worst in franchise history and a mistake the Islanders could be dealing with for quite a long time.

If Engvall is bought out, he would cost the Islanders $1 million annually through 2035; if not, they will be dealing with a $3 million hit through 2030.

With the salary cap no longer flat, that is not necessarily the complete financial disaster it might have been a few years ago.

But unless the Islanders can somehow move him, or unless he works his way back from the AHL to become a more dependable player, it is an unforced error without a good solution.