Monday is the deadline for NHL teams to submit their cap-compliant, opening-night rosters. Teams were forced to make their final cuts Sunday, which resulted in a massive dump of players, including some established NHLers, landing on waivers.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the most intriguing players available on the wire.
Pierre Engvall, LW, New York Islanders
Engvall is undoubtedly an NHL-caliber player. The 28-year-old left winger is an excellent skater (ranked in the 97th percentile of all players for speed bursts above 20 miles per hour, according to NHL Edge data) and has desirable height at 6-foot-5. Engvall has scored at a 33-points-per-82-games clip over the last three seasons, meaning he can contribute legitimate secondary offense. He’s also driven strong two-way play-driving numbers during his last two years with the Islanders. Engvall can be a frustrating player, however, because he can look like a gentle giant rather than a physical force and he’s prone to inconsistent stretches. He’s had a rough preseason, which coupled with the Isles’ forward depth additions, left him on the outside looking in. He has another six years left on a deal that carries a $3 million cap hit so the odds of him getting claimed are slim despite being an intriguing player.
Justin Holl, RHD, Detroit Red Wings
Holl established himself as a competent No. 5 quality defender during his tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a whipping boy at times for making loud, costly mistakes but his overall body of work wasn’t bad. Holl offered size (6-foot-4) and genuinely excellent penalty-killing ability and wasn’t even half-bad at moving the puck according to manually tracked data. Right-shot defensemen with that profile are desirable, but the Red Wings went too far and overpaid him last summer on a three-year contract with a $3.4 million cap hit. Holl has been a disappointment in Detroit. The Red Wings had a logjam of bottom-of-the-lineup defensemen and Holl became a frequent healthy scratch. The 32-year-old is still a bona fide NHL quality player, but with two years left on a bloated contract, it’d be surprising if a team rolls the dice on him.
Adam Gaudette, C, Ottawa Senators
Gaudette has a wicked shot and decent speed and can help a second-unit power play at the NHL level (he was really good on Vancouver’s PP2 in 2019-20 as a rookie). He’s struggled to stick in the NHL as a full-time player, however, because he doesn’t have the defensive ability and physical edge that teams are often looking for on their bottom-six lines. He doesn’t have the best hockey IQ, either. With that said, he’s got more than 200 games of NHL experience and broke out in the AHL last year, leading all players with 44 goals in 67 games. Perhaps there’s a chance Gaudette can offer enough of a secondary scoring punch on the power play and at even strength for a team to stick him on a sheltered bottom-six scoring line.
Jakob Pelletier, LW, Calgary Flames
Pelletier is a likeable player due to his hockey sense and compete level. He can create offense with the puck and plays with courage despite his size. For a smaller winger, he does lack a truly dynamic quality in his game, though, especially given his lack of great speed. Despite being a first-round pick in 2019 he’s likely just an organizational depth player.
Erik Brannstrom, LHD, Vancouver Canucks
Brannstrom is talented enough to provide NHL value but he’s found himself as a tweener because he doesn’t fit the archetype that most teams look for when building a third pair. The 25-year-old left-shot defender doesn’t have the high-end skill or power-play chops to fill an offensive specialist role and he lacks ideal size (listed at 5-foot-10) and defensive ability. Brannstrom’s puck-moving ability is a legitimate asset, though, and he quietly delivered promising underlying numbers with Ottawa. The Senators controlled 52 percent of shot attempts and 53.5 percent of expected goals during his five-on-five shifts over the last two seasons. After signing with Colorado in the offseason, he was traded to Vancouver on Sunday and immediately placed on waivers. He could be a useful pickup for a team that wants to break the puck out better on the third pair, not to mention he’d be a low-risk pickup because he’s on a fully buriable $900,000 cap hit.
Samuel Bolduc, LHD, New York Islanders
Bolduc has intrigued at times due to his pure tools. He’s a big defenseman who skates well for his size and has at least some offensive skill, too. I don’t think he’s a natural with the puck, struggling at times with his decisions. He can defend fine, but he’s not a super hard-to-play-against type, either. The result has been 50 NHL games to date, but a player who has struggled to find a defined role in the league.
Isaak Phillips, LHD, Chicago Blackhawks
Phillips has played games in each of the last three seasons with Chicago. I’m sure some would argue that if he can’t make Chicago’s blue line, why would a team want him? I think he does have a lot of NHL traits. He’s big, moves well and plays hard. His puck play has been a question in his game, but as a pro, he has shown some offense. There could be a spot as a depth defenseman for him in an organization if he doesn’t make Chicago.
Matthew Robertson, LHD, New York Rangers
Robertson has been in tough to crack an elite Rangers blue line. He’s been on both special teams for AHL Hartford, playing legit minutes. He’s big and mobile and can make a lot of stops, and while he’s not a natural puck-mover, he has enough skill to be OK with the puck. He’s a toolsy player who could be worth a gamble to see how he fares with opportunity.
Samuel Fagemo, LW, Los Angeles Kings
Fagemo has been through waivers several times. After being reclaimed by the Kings last season, he scored 43 goals in 50 AHL games. He’s talented, but a bit of a tweener. He’s a good skater with legit skill and scoring ability, but I wouldn’t call him a dynamo with the puck, and while he works hard enough he’s average off the puck. If a team were to claim him, they would have to have a power-play spot to give him, otherwise he’ll be back in the AHL.
Ryan Suzuki, C, Carolina Hurricanes
Suzuki is a quick, skilled playmaking center who hasn’t yet been able to put it all together. The 2019 first-round pick has been severely hampered by injuries and, even when healthy, hasn’t produced at an elite level in the AHL. There’s a chance he could become a late bloomer with improved health, though, because his offensive skill set has always stood out.
(Photo of Pierre Engvall: Jaylynn Nash / Getty Images)
