There isn't any one player the Penguins could (realistically) obtain this offseason who will individually right the ship and put them back on the path to contention. It's going to take a number of savvy transactions to make that happen.
While I believe the Penguins' new general manager should look to shore up the No. 1 goalie spot and even potentially nab a top-four, left-handed defenseman via trade instead of overpaying the top free agents in a rather weak class, it simply won't be possible to fill every gap on the roster without dabbling in free agency somewhat.
Although this summer's crop of free agents leaves quite a bit to be desired, there is a chunk of complementary players who will be solid contributors further down the lineup for whichever team they end up with.
Leading up to the start of free agency, I will be profiling select pending unrestricted free agents and taking a look at whether or not they might be a strong fit with the Penguins.
Starting things off is a player whose toolbox might just be exactly what the Penguins need in their bottom six: Pierre Engvall.
Engvall, turning 27 later this month, is a former seventh-round pick (2014) of the Maple Leafs who not only beat the odds by making it to the NHL, but has already carved out a 244-game career for himself after debuting in 2019-20 with plenty more on the way.
Don't let his 6-foot-5, 219-pound frame fool you, Engvall is especially dynamic for a player his size. Seriously, how many big fellas -- who aren't flat-out stars -- do you know who are capable of pulling this off?
Yeah ... not many. That was Engvall this past January as a member of the Maple Leafs before he was dealt to the Islanders at the trade deadline for a third-round pick in 2024. The goal is a perfect example of how he excels at playing a finesse game despite having a checker's body.
After cleanly retrieving the puck along the wall in the defensive zone (an important and often underrated skill for complementary players to possess), Engvall displayed some serious patience in a situation many other players in his role would have gotten the puck off their stick in a hurry by chipping it out of the zone or forcing a stretch pass through traffic. Instead, the very first thing he did was pick his head up to scan, then identified oncoming pressure before making a move right around them and turning on the jets to take advantage of all the open ice through the middle.
Different strokes for different folks, but plays like that are vital to maintaining possession and keeping your opponent in pursuit of the puck.
Once Engvall made a move to evade the first wave of pressure, he did an outstanding job of using his long reach to keep the puck out of harm's way while he utilized quick crossovers and lengthy strides to create separation. Suddenly, he was barreling into the offensive zone, right up the middle, and unleashed a blistering shot by the likely Vezina winner, Linus Ullmark.
One isolated play doesn't come anywhere close to building a foundation as to why a player should be signed, but I believe the entire sequence showcases several intriguing components of his game that were sorely lacking in the Penguins' bottom six this past season.
Outside of a few flashes from Drew O'Connor and Ryan Poehling, the bottom six spent far more time grasping for possession of the puck by playing a chip-and-chase game instead of hanging onto pucks in the first place. Although, part of the reason for that was because they didn't have enough skill to hang onto pucks and make plays on a consistent basis.
Think this guy might be of some help?
To an extent, Engvall was dealt by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline to clear cap space for other acquisitions, but I can't help but wonder if they might've overreacted to his poor percentage luck, all of which was induced by poor finishing from his linemates.
During his 664 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time prior to the trade, the Leafs controlled an immensely strong 57.6% of the expected goals, per Evolving-Hockey. That mark was a team-high at the time of the trade. But, their share of actual goals with him out there sat at just 48%. Why? That'll happen when the team scores 10 fewer goals than expected, as was the case during his full-strength ice-time.
That wasn't anything that had to do with Engvall. Individually, he was generating 0.87 expected goals per hour and scoring 0.9 goals per hour at 5-on-5. The latter figure would have stood as the third-highest mark on the Penguins, behind only Sidney Crosby and Jason Zucker. He was finishing. Those he shared the ice with were not. It led to middling results when it came to on-ice goals, leaving the Leafs under the assumption he was expendable.
Of course, after the trade, Engvall went on to tear it up with the Islanders. Across 246 minutes at 5-on-5, he scored a career-high 1.22 goals per hour along with a career-high 1.95 points per hour. Despite taking on a more prominent role on a worse team that didn't do nearly as good a job of controlling play, Engvall maintained an on-ice expected goals share of 55.6% and, get this, a whopping 65.6% share of on-ice goals.
Over the past three seasons, his goal-scoring rate is better than 71% of NHL forwards and his primary-assist rate is slightly better than average. Considering how infrequently the Penguins' bottom six produced, Engvall continuing forth at a similar level would be a significant boost.
He'd also provide a significant boost in the speed department and would instantly become one of the Penguins' fastest skaters. That, on top of his production and excellence in skating the puck across both blue lines with possession, makes him a very enticing target. And, even though he doesn't shy away from trying to make plays in the offensive zone, he's not afraid to let 'er rip when he has a lane. That, too, could aid the Penguins when they're in a pass-happy funk.
Engvall is sure to frustrate his fair share of people for not actively seeking big hits even though he has the frame for it, but don't let that get in the way of the fact that he does, indeed, get his nose dirty on the forecheck, along the wall and corners, and at the net-front. Besides, targeting mean-streak players for the sake of it is silly. Targeting good players is smart (high-level analysis, I know). And Engvall is a good player.
From an overall value perspective, Engvall is coming off the best season of his career. His isolated impact toward his team's ability to generate quality offense ranked in the 91st percentile of NHL forwards and his defensive impact ranked in the 77th percentile. Weighted over the last three years, those figures rank in the 89th and 76th percentile, respectively.
Below is a snapshot of Engvall's performance during that timeframe, per JFresh Hockey. As always, I encourage you to focus your attention on the individual components instead of the large WAR (wins above replacement) percentile up top. You can read a full explainer on how to understand the cards here.
JFRESH HOCKEY
One thing worth pointing out is that Engvall provides very little when it comes to penalty impacts. He takes penalties at a slightly lower rate than league-average, but he hardly ever draws them against the opposition, resulting in his 17th percentile rank in that regard.
The card above displays his ice-time as that of a fourth-liner, though he was averaging middle-of-the-pack third-line minutes by the end of his time with the Maple Leafs and averaged low-end second-line minutes in his stint with the Islanders.
His special teams ice-time over the past three seasons didn't meet the threshold for a percentile ranking, but he is an option on power-play two as a transition guy and trigger man, and he provided above-average play on the penalty-kill this past season.
Traditionally a left-winger, Engvall can also play center. We all know how much Mike Sullivan covets positional versatility. However, he's not great at taking faceoffs and doesn't figure to be a full-time solution up the middle.
What'll it take to sign him? According to the contract projections of Evolving-Hockey, Engvall is projected to sign a three-year contract with a $2.9 million annual cap hit. I would jump all over that. It doesn't break the bank or get in the way of making a couple of larger additions and, quite frankly, that'd be a bargain, so long as he doesn't fall off a cliff.
Signing a bottom-six forward doesn't come anywhere close to the top of the priority list this offseason, but when the time comes to find some value to fill out the bottom six, I'd be giving a long look in Engvall's direction.
