The Islanders have lost their captain.
The Islanders have lost their captain. It was an expected outcome when free agency began Wednesday, but that didn’t take away from the sobering reality when it actually hit hours later.
Anders Lee signed with the Mammoth on a three-year deal worth $5.4 million in average annual value, according to Elliotte Friedman, ending a 14-year run with the Islanders that included the final eight as captain. The Islanders had the cap space — and could’ve created more if needed, general manager Mathieu Darche said.
But it all came down to term, and though the door was, according to TSN, still left open for a return after Lee informed the Islanders on Tuesday that he planned to test the market, the sides couldn’t compromise.
“The term was tougher for us — and everybody has their own puzzle, depending where you are and your stage,” Darche said. “And for him, he felt like he wanted the term, and he’s entitled to it. He’s an unrestricted free agent. It’s in his power to see what’s out there, and we couldn’t come to an agreement.
Corey Sipkin for the NY POST “I’m actually happy for Anders that he got his term that he wanted and the money he wanted. So good on him for getting what he wanted. ” Darche, fittingly, addressed reporters during intermission of the Islanders development camp scrimmage, where their future was on display with players who — one day — might be tasked with stepping into the same role in the top six once occupied by Lee.
As he answered questions, Darche certainly sounded like a general manager thinking about what the Islanders could be in the long term and “not just a quick burst for a year and we’re right back in the same spot. ” But that’s all for the future. In the present, eight years after John Tavares walked July 1 and Lee stepped into the captaincy months later, the 35-year-old, too, left.
Lee, a sixth-round pick in 2009, finished 77 games shy of becoming the fourth player in franchise history to skate in 1,000 games. It made the other signings of the day — when the Islanders brought in winger Matias Maccelli, goaltender Vitek Vanecek, defenseman Matthew Kessel and forward Mitchell Chaffee on one-year deals — seem minuscule to the transaction that came together just under six hours after the league’s new year began.
It’ll mean the Islanders lineup will look different next season without Lee in the top six. It’ll mean that someone else — maybe Matthew Schaefer or Mathew Barzal — will become the next captain.
It’ll mean that the Islanders will need to look elsewhere for not only Lee’s 19 goals and 42 points from 2025-26, but also his presence in the dressing room for a team that fired its coach with four games left and missed the playoff cutline by eight points. Before the regular season ended, as the Islanders were in the middle of the free fall that led to Patrick Roy being fired and Peter DeBoer arriving, Lee didn’t hide his desire to remain with the Islanders.
It was the only franchise he had ever known. He’d advanced to an Eastern Conference final with the franchise and fell just short of getting his crack at the Stanley Cup.
“It’s where I’ve put my best foot forward as much as I can,” Lee said in April. “I don’t take anything for granted. ” But it became clear by the time free agency opened Wednesday that he was likely heading elsewhere. The Wild were reportedly involved in trying to pursue Lee, according to The Athletic.
Then, the Mammoth, who also acquired Rangers center Vincent Trocheck on Wednesday, secured Lee.
“The way he’s handled himself the last year,” Darche, who still views the Islanders as a playoff team, said, “it’s not an easy situation for him. He handled it with the utmost class. ” These are the days that seismically alter a franchise. These are the days that, if the Islanders struggle next year and Lee thrives, could loom large.
These are the days that, when all is said and done, will factor into the equation used to define Darche’s tenure.
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