Pat Pickens
Anders Lee spent his 14 NHL seasons wearing a New York Islanders sweater. That may be about to change soon.
Lee spoke about his future at the Islanders breakup day Wednesday and explained why his exit interview with GM Mathieu Darche was important.
The Islanders captain just finished a seven-year, $49 million contract, which he signed July 1, 2019, the first day he was eligible for a contract extension. The Isles’ sixth-round pick in the 2009 NHL Draft is coming off a 19-goal, 42-point season in which he played all 82 games.
Anders Lee wants to re-sign with Islanders
Lee turns 36 on July 3, two days after he can become an unrestricted free agent, and he’s been open about wanting to return to the Islanders for his 15th NHL season. New York’s captain is the team’s second-longest-tenured player behind fourth-line center Casey Cizikas.
He said before the team’s season finale Tuesday that he was hoping to see through the Islanders’ goal of reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1984.
“I’ve given everything I have to this organization,” Lee said before the Islanders’ game against the Carolina Hurricanes. “It’s where I’ve played my entire career. It’s where I’ve put my best foot forward as much as I can.”
He said Wednesday he hopes he doesn’t get to free agency — and that he planned to start his potential negotiations during his exit interview with Darche.
“I think it’s pretty important,” Lee said of the conversation with Darche. “We can begin to figure things out here and have that conversation and see where he’s at and likewise with myself.
“We’re at that time where we can do this now.”
Darche said he had spoken to certain members of the Islanders for their exit interviews but had not done so at the time of his postseason media availability. But he reiterated Lee’s importance.
“I have the utmost respect for Anders Lee,” Darche said. “I told Anders I’d love to see him play 1,000 games for the Islanders. What that looks like, and whether we are able to find something that’s suitable for us and for him, we’ll discuss.”
To Darche’s point, Lee is just 77 games away from playing 1,000 in the NHL. Considering he has missed just one game in the past four seasons, Lee is likely to reach that milestone at some point in April 2027.
Still, whether he does so in an Islanders uniform remains to be seen.
“I know he’s not far from [1,000 games],” Darche said. “I’d love to see that, but I’m always looking forward to what other options we have [and] what we need to do to move this roster forward.
“But the way Anders played this year, I think he can still help us.”
Anders Lee’s teammates call him ‘a protector’
Lee’s expiring contract will create roster flexibility, and if he comes back at a lower salary-cap charge, the Islanders could have the chance to make financial decisions that could ultimately make them better.
But Lee’s teammates also know what the Islanders will be losing if he is allowed to depart in free agency.
“He’s pretty much been, for most of my career here, the captain and the leader of the team,” defenseman Ryan Pulock said. “He’s been such a staple here, such a key part of the success we had, a leader, a protector of a lot of guys in here. He’s really kind of done it all, and I’m proud to have been his teammate.
“For what he has done for this franchise, for the Island, he’s laid all out there every single night.”
Lee’s contributions include more than just the 308 goals and 549 points he’s put up in 923 games. Amid a growing trend of captains skipping out on media avails, Lee is often one of the Islanders players to speak after wins and losses.
His teammates also find him approachable and easy to talk to about things going on in their lives.
“He sticks up for everyone in here not only on the ice but off the ice,” center Jean-Gabriel Pageau said. “Sometimes when you need to talk to someone, he’s so easy to talk to. That’s why he’s a great captain and a leader.”
So the uncertainty is going to weigh on both players and fans, even though a one- or two-year contract at a lower salary-cap number is likely to get done between Lee and the Islanders. Despite Darche’s laudatory remarks about his captain, the one thing he wouldn’t say when asked whether Lee would be back next season was “Yes.”
Nor did Lee mention what kind of a salary cut/hometown discount he’d be willing to sign for.
“These are the hard thing to talk about,” Pulock said. “You don’t know when your contract is expires, you never know what could happen.”
