Stefen Rosner on Morning Cuppa Hockey Talking Islanders EAST MEADOW, NY -- Given the rotation at the bottom of the New York Islanders [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/] lineup, general manager Lou Lamoriello [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-patrick-roy-lou-lamoriello-rumors-pierre-engvall-matt-martin-call-ups] and head coach Patrick Roy [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/new-york-islanders-patrick-roy-lou-lamoriello-rumors-pierre-engvall-matt-martin-call-ups] are hoping that Pierre Engvall can fill one of the two holes long-term. It's a fair ask, given that Engvall is on a long-term contract and currently in the second season of a seven-year deal worth $3 million annually. But, his struggles to play his game, a North-South transition game, at a consistent rate led to him hitting waivers before the start of the season, landing in Bridgeport. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjEwMzA4MTM0NzMwNzM3MjMw/usatsi_23092464.jpg] With Anthony Duclair on Long-Term Injured Reserve [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/anthony-duclair-new-york-islanders-injury-timeline-patrick-roy], which opened up $3.5 million cap space, Engvall was recalled, playing 10:37 minutes in their 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers/] on Saturday night. On Monday, we had the chance to speak to Engvall for the first time since he was waived. "It was tough," Engvall said about the demotion. "But again, you can only control what you can control, and so I'm just happy to be back, and I'm just gonna do my best.” Engvall had one goal in six games, scoring the first goal of the Bridgeport season, a team that's off to a 1-5-1-0 start. “I think we had some tough games. I think we're a group that's working hard," Engvall said. "And, of course, we want to win those games, but I think I got to play a lot, and yeah, I'm happy to be back, and it feels good." Roy and Lamoriello spoke with Engvall before his demotion, a conversation he is keeping behind closed doors. "I had meetings with them. I think that's between me and them," Engvall said. "Obviously, it was tough to get sent down, but again, I'm very happy to be back, and yeah, I'm just looking forward to the game tomorrow.” When we spoke with Lamoriello after Engvall was recalled, he said sending the 28-year-old to Bridgeport was "absolutely" a wake-up call. But Engvall was honest Monday afternoon, saying that he didn't need to get demoted to become motivated. "I don’t know about the motivation part, but I think I was ready to come back here, and I think I've been ready the whole time," Engvall said. "So, right now, I'm ready, I want to play, and I want to help the team win, and I'm just gonna do my best. "If you’re scratched, you want to be back in, and I think if you get sent down, you obviously want to get back up and start playing again.” Then, after that chat, it was time to talk to Roy, who said this on Satuday night after the loss: "We know what he did for this team the past two years, and I guess Lou thought it was a good moment for him to be back and play." For all the people panicking that there is a riff between Lamoriello and Roy, he put that to rest on Monday, too: Going back to the chat with Lamoriello after Engvall hit waivers, the Hall of Fame general manager was abundantly clear on how he viewed the forward. "I think that 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. Lamoriello said. "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." Roy immediately put him in a bottom-six role, a fourth-line role after being recalled. And after the team did line rushes on Monday, that's where he'll stay Tuesday night against the Anaheim Ducks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/anaheim-ducks/]. "Yes," was Roy's answer when asked if Engvall could play a fourth-line role. "That's where he was in Toronto. He was playing on that fourth line, and he played really well. So, I do believe that he could play that role here. Yes.” But, for Engvall to stick in the lineup, what does Roy need to see? “First of all, we want him to compete, bring pucks to the net, win battles," Roy said. "And then it's tracking, stuff like this that will help him, for sure." Roy made it clear that he and Lamoriello haven't been happy with the play of the guys that have lined up in the 11th and 12th forward spots. "We're going to give Pierre another shot tomorrow with Fasching and see how it goes," Roy said. "And Marty will probably play in Columbus if we decide that." We'll see how things go, but it's clear the hope is that Engvall wins a starting job, which is one less hole the Islanders need to fill as they try to find consistency in their game.
