2020 NHL Season: Grading the Toronto Maple Leafs’ left wingers at season pause
By Simon Vacca
Pierre Engvall
Games Played: 48
Goals: 8
Assists: 7
Points: 15
Pierre Engvall was one of those players who epitomized the nature of Toronto’s Jekyll and Hyde campaign.
His season, like that of the club’s, was something of a rollercoaster ride. Let’s unpack it.
Between Nov. 21, 2019 and Jan. 18, 2020, Engvall played in 27 matchups — during which he amassed an impressive 7 goals and 7 assists for 14 points. He had won over the hearts of the Maple Leafs faithful — an impressive feat for a first-time NHLer — and was awarded with a two-year contract extension on Feb. 12 (the average annual value of which was set at $1.25 million).
The 23-year-old received near universal praise for his steady two-way play and timely scoring ability. Engvall’s capacity to play both along the wing and down the middle of the ice even had some fans speculating that he may — in theory — suffice as the club’s third-line center of the future.
And then — seemingly out of the blue — the scoring just…stopped.
Between Jan. 27 and Mar. 10 — 21 games in total — Engvall only netted one goal and failed to tally any assists. To make matters worse, that lone goal was scored on none other than David Ayres — the infamous fan turned emergency goaltender who led the Carolina Hurricanes to a historic 6-3 victory over the Maple Leafs on Feb. 22.
It is difficult to pinpoint what exactly happened to Engvall’s campaign. Nobody notches 14 points in their first 27 matchups at the professional level on the basis of luck alone — yet a mere one point in 21 games is nothing short of concerning.
I still believe that the Swedish forward has a bright career ahead of him. After all, most players find the transition between AHL and NHL hockey to be challenging at best. But for now, a grade of B will have to account for what was, at times, a highly successful season — and a truly trying one at others.
Grade: B