Pierre Engvall meets the media after signing a new one-year contract worth $2.25 million with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Pierre Engvall had the option to go through salary arbitration. But as the moments ticked away before the July 17, 5 p.m. ET deadline, The Toronto Maple Leafs announced they agreed to a one-year deal with the forward worth $2.25 million. "I discussed it with my agent (Claude Lemieux) and what we came to is it was the best thing to do," Engvall said of the deal. "I let him take care of it and I'm just glad I got to resign with Toronto." Speaking from his summer home in Sweden, Engvall said his confidence grew last season with more playing time. With the Maple Leafs up against a tight salary cap combined with the loss of some depth forwards in Ilya Mikheyev and Ondrej Kase, the club is betting that Engvall will take another jump in his game. "I like to have the puck. I want to skate a lot with the puck and make plays, but I also want to be a really hard guy to play against without the puck," Engvall said. "I want to make it hard for the other guys out there to play against me." Last season, Engvall scored 15 goals and 35 points in 78 games. During his three seasons with Toronto, The 2021-22 campaign marked the first time the 26-year-old was up with the big club in a full-time role for a proper 82-game season. He'll be an unrestricted free agent when his current deal wraps up and would certainly be motivated to his increase his scoring from last season. "I hope and I think that I can score 20 goals," Engvall said when asked if he could do it. "I'll definitely do my best to prepare this summer to be as good as I can be for next season." Engvall earned $1.25 million last season. On Friday, the Maple Leafs added some depth by signing forward Calle Jarnkrok to a four-year, $8.4 million deal. Depending on how the lineup shakes out, Engvall might end up on the same line with the fellow Swede. "I would love to play with him, I think he's a smart player," Engvall said of Jarnkrok. "A skilled guy but also has some grit to the game. I think we could play good together." Engvall said he's been keeping in touch with fellow teammate and countryman Rasmus Sandin, but they have not discussed the nature of his defenseman's contract negotiations. The 22-year-old Sandin is currently a restricted free agent and the Leafs are approximately $1.5 million over the salary cap with 22 players signed. In addition to Jarnkrok, the Leafs also signed forwards Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Adam Gaudette to one-year deals and the club is making a bet that those players can pan out in a similar way to forwards like Michael Bunting, Mikheyev and Kase. But with the big pay raise for Engvall, he's just as important of a player as anyone if the Maple Leafs are expected to replicate their regular-season success.
