The Islanders lost their captain.<\/p>\n
It was an expected outcome when free agency began Wednesday, but that didn\u2019t take away from the sobering reality when Anders Lee signed with the Mammoth on a three-year deal worth $5.4 million in average annual value, according to multiple reports \u2014 ending a 14-year run with the Islanders that included the final eight as captain.<\/p>\n
The Islanders had the salary cap space and could\u2019ve 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\u2019t compromise.<\/p>\n
Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) pressures Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39). Corey Sipkin for the NY POST<\/p>\n
\u201cThe term was tougher for us \u2014 and everybody has their own puzzle, depending where you are and your stage,\u201d Darche said. \u201cAnd for him, he felt like he wanted the term, and he\u2019s entitled to it. He\u2019s an unrestricted free agent\u2026. It\u2019s in his power to see what\u2019s out there, and we couldn\u2019t come to an agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darche, fittingly, addressed reporters during intermission of the Islanders development camp scrimmage, where their future was on display with players who \u2014 one day \u2014 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 \u201cnot just a quick burst for a year and we\u2019re right back in the same spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
Anders Lee celebrates after the Islanders-Rangers game on Dec. 27, 2025. NHLI via Getty Images<\/p>\n
It made the other signings of the day \u2014 winger Matias Maccelli, goaltender Vitek Vanecek, defenseman Matthew Kessel and forward Mitchell Chaffee, all on one-year deals \u2014 seem insignificant when compared to Lee leaving.<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll mean the Islanders lineup will look different next season without Lee in the top six. It\u2019ll mean that someone else \u2014 maybe Matthew Schaefer or Mathew Barzal \u2014 will become the next captain. It\u2019ll mean that the Islanders will need to look elsewhere for not only Lee\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t hide his desire to remain with the Islanders. It was the only franchise he had ever known. He\u2019d advanced to a conference final with the franchise and fell just short of getting his crack at the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe way he\u2019s handled himself the last year,\u201d said Darche, who still views the Islanders as a playoff team, \u201cit\u2019s not an easy situation for him. He handled it with the utmost class.\u201d<\/p>\n