agree to disagree, he has always had long stretches of games that hes completely invisible then performs well for a few weeks and teases the fanbase and management of what he can be if he showed any sort of consistency whatsoever. kindof like how he played in the final month of last season, which got him a contract for this year. during his old contract(2 years 1.85mil) it was easier to ignore given his salary, at 2.25mil now he needs to learn to do other things when his offense isnt going. hes put up a few points recently so thats good, but it doesnt change the fact hes a passenger most nights. i agree with the last thing you said though, he does have the tools, but given the salary constraints of this team we cant afford to pay guys that dont show up every night. and hes been one of the few culprits this year.
As a defensive player, which is often how he is deployed, if you are "invisible" that is typically a good thing. It means he is doing his job.
If you are claiming he was going long stretches without being a strong defensive player at the very least, then that is factually untrue. He was, and always has been, consistent defensively.
The offense is occasionally spotty and that is why he makes 2.25 mill and not a lot more than that (aka Mikheyev money). I think his optimal deployment is on a shutdown line with Kampf and not worrying about giving him too many PP or offensive opportunities, but if the expectation is about showing up every night and having an impact (of any kind, not just offensively), then Engvall is more than meeting those expectations.
Is it possible for him to be replaced by an ELC? Sure. We have good forward prospects and he himself once did it when he was on an ELC. Plus, unlike Kerfoot, he is not given heavy PK or PP minutes that a suitable ELC should would not be able to replace.
Does that mean we should deal him? Probably not, unless you get a great deal and you trust a Marlie (or at least Malgin) to handle a heavily defensive role. Malgin can probably handle it, but defense hasn't been a particular strong suit for most Marlies' prospects. Anderson is probably the only strong internal option other than Malgin or shifting Holmberg to the wing. You are taking a sizeable risk for anyone besides those 3 to step into that role.