James Nichols
The New York Islanders may lose their captain to free agency, and the New Jersey Devils play a major role in the situation.
Anders Lee’s seven year contract is up on July 1st and he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent.
The Islanders and Lee have been here before. However, at the 11th hour back in 2019, Lee and the Islanders agreed to terms on an extension to keep the captain on Long Island.
Yet, this isn’t Lou Lamoriello’s Islanders anymore. It’s Mathieu Darche in the GM chair these days. And now Lee and the Islanders are back at it in this game of chicken.
According to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, Lee and his agent are preparing to hit free agency on July 1st.
“Looking like Anders Lee is preparing to hit free agency,” LeBrun posted on X. “His agent Neil Sheehy met with Isles GM Mathieu Darche today. Both sides far apart. The Isles intend to keep trying, they want their captain back. But Lee appears most likely headed to market at the moment. Obviously things could change between now and July 1.”
Thus, if all else fails, Lee will walk to unrestricted free agency in a few weeks, and the Devils are partially to blame.
One of Tom Fitzgerald‘s parting gifts to New Jersey was the miracle he pulled off when unloading Ondrej Palat‘s contract in a Devils trade in January.
Palat was convinced to waive his trade protection to move to Long Island—with a 2026 third-round draft pick and a 2027 sixth-round draft pick attached—and the Devils received Maxim Tsyplakov in return.
Now, the Islanders are on the hook for one more year of Palat at $6 million against the salary cap, as opposed to Tsyplakov’s $2.25 million.
Darche didn’t only dance with the Devils, however.
He later traded for Brayden Schenn at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, buying the St. Louis Blues captain who has two years remaining on his contract with a $6.5 million cap hit in exchange for Jonathan Drouin, goalie prospect Marcus Gidlof, and two 2026 draft picks (a first-round pick via Colorado and a third-round pick).
On July 1st, the Islanders have $10,684,584 in cap space. Lee is their most significant free agent, although Darche apparently has other plans.
Yet, the Islanders wouldn’t be in this predicament had they prioritized Lee over Palat and Schenn—two players you can say with certainty Lee is more valuable than.
Instead of a combined $6.25 million cap hit between Tsyplakov and Drouin, the Islanders are paying Palat and Schenn a whopping $12.5 million next season.
The $6.25 million difference is quite ironic given AFP Analytics projects Lee’s next contract to be worth $6,607,466 million amid a three-year deal.
One can assume Lee would be willing to sign a hometown discount to bring that number down a bit, but you get the idea.
Lee—the Islanders captain since 2018-19—is a consistent 20-plus goal scorer as a career-long Islander. The 35-year old is actually a good fit for the Devils if they can land him as a UFA at the right price, although that seems unlikely if he’s seemingly priced himself out on Long Island where they have similar cap space to New Jersey.
Heading into a summer with a weak crop of free agents, Lee is bound to get paid. This will be an interesting situation to watch develop, especially because the Devils’ fingerprints are all over it.
