Whether Tuesday was Anders Lee’s last game as an Islander, even the captain does not know.
What is clear, though, is that Lee, an unrestricted free agent as of July 1, wants to finish his career with the team that drafted him in 2009.
“Yeah, of course,” Lee said Tuesday before the Islanders closed out their season against the Hurricanes. “I’ve given everything I have to this organization. All the things, it’s all the things.
“It’s where I’ve played my entire career. It’s where I’ve put my best foot forward as much as I can. I don’t take anything for granted. Just want to have another good night tonight with this team and this group. Let’s close this out with two points.”
For a lot of the season, the possibility of Lee signing someplace else seemed remote at best. Since the trade deadline, though, two things have conspired to make it look like more of a possibility.
The first, obviously, is the way the Islanders finished the season. Crashing out in spectacular fashion and failing to make the playoffs changed this from a feel-good, fun year to one that will prompt general manager Mathieu Darche to reexamine the roster, even if the franchise is still undoubtedly on an upward trajectory.
Lee, as a 35-year-old whose contract is expiring, is a convenient lever for change.
There is a monetary aspect to that as well. Depending how you count, the Islanders will have, give or take, $10 million in cap space this summer before bringing anyone back or buying anyone out. Lee will not get the same $7 million AAV as his last deal, but what level of discount would he take to remain an Islander?
The second is how the Islanders handled the trade deadline, bringing in Brayden Schenn while re-signing Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Like Lee, the original plan with Pageau was to wait until the end of the season before talking extension. Darche broke from that plan with Pageau. He did not with Lee.
Initially, it seemed confusing that the Islanders would keep both Schenn — under contract for next season — and Pageau. Both are primarily centers, both are good in the faceoff dot, both are ideal on the second or third line. Schenn, though, can also play the wing, and has done so since Pete DeBoer took over. And the heavy game he brings, along with his off-ice leadership, might make him redundant with Lee as opposed to Pageau.
Lee, the Islanders captain since 2018, means the world to the franchise and is still a plenty effective player despite his age. He entered Tuesday with 19 goals and 23 assists, led the Islanders in expected goals for percentage this season and can play on any line, with any teammate.
He is also the unquestioned leader in the dressing room, and regarded as an incredibly good one. Earlier this season, when the Islanders were on a 17-day trip and facing two days off in Winnipeg with nothing to do, Lee volunteered his house in Minnesota for a day of team bonding. The Islanders stayed an extra night in Minneapolis, played pond hockey and watched football together. Across the organization, it was considered one of the best days of the season.
It is hard to think of a bigger way to shake up the dressing room than to let Lee walk.
And so the question, really, is whether that is something Darche wants.
“I’d be lying to say I just started [to think about the future],” Lee said. “That process has been long [started]. There’s not much to work out here in terms of — nothing’s changed. So I don’t have anything one way or the other.
“Just continue to do what I can to help this team. Play whatever role they want me to play, do whatever they ask me to do. Try to push these boys forward. Do whatever I can to lead this team.”
