The forward was a restricted free agent and received a raise of $1 million.
Mere minutes before the NHL and NHLPA announced the list of players that were heading for salary arbitration, Pierre Engvall avoided that outcome.
The forward re-signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday.
The contract is for one-year at $2.25 million. It’s a $1 million raise from his salary cap hit during the 2021-22 season.
Engvall hit career highs in goals (15), assists (20) in 78 games this season. Initially bouncing around as a fourth-liner, The tall Swedish forward became a reliable third-line winger for head coach Sheldon Keefe to use at his disposal.
The Leafs are making a bet that Engvall make continue to develop into a shutdown third-liner and perhaps produce more offensively.
With Engvall signed, the Maple Leafs now find themselves in a bit of a salary cap crunch.
According to Puckpedia.com, Toronto is just under $1.5 million over the salary cap committed to 22 players and they still have restricted free agent defenseman Rasmus Sandin left to sign.
Even if Sandin signs and the Leafs try to move forward while only carrying the minimum amount of players on the active roster at 20, it still may not be enough to accommodate to stay under the salary cap by opening night without an additional corresponding move.
There’s are still many free agents left unsigned around the NHL and as the summer rolls along, there should be more clarity with what teams can and can’t do. The Sandin situation could take a while. The Swede was coming off his entry-level contract and was not eligible for salary arbitration.