Islanders 'sad to see' Lee sign with Mammoth as free agent

Anders Lee was captain of the New York Islanders since Oct. 4, 2018, a run that ended when he signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract (average annual value of $5.4 million) with the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday as an unrestricted free agent.

Though Islanders coach Peter DeBoer only worked with Lee for the final four games of last season, he found out pretty quickly what he was about.

"Well, I don't think we can talk about (free agency moves) without saying how much Anders Lee will be missed here and what he did, and what he's meant to this organization," DeBoer said Thursday. "In my time in the NHL, I don't think I remember a time the Islanders were without Anders Lee in the lineup. So, he'll be missed, but that's the NHL."

Now the question is who becomes the 16th captain in Islanders history? Bo Horvat and Brayden Schenn are former captains of the Vancouver Canucks and St. Louis Blues, respectively, and Horvat was named an Islanders alternate prior to the 2024-25 season. There's also Matthew Schaefer, the 18-year-old winner of the 2026 Calder Trophy voted as the NHL rookie of the year.

"I had not even thought about that," DeBoer said. "I was hoping we wouldn't be in this spot, so it's kind of one of those things where you don't think about it until you have to. I guess we'll start having to now, and that'll be something that we'll discuss going forward."

How soon the Islanders want to go that route is unknown. Replacing Lee, a nine-time 20-goal scorer and mentor to the young players, won't be easy.

"He was a great captain, a great leader," Isaiah George, a 22-year-old defenseman, said during development camp. "He was great to me when I came in, made me feel welcome, made sure I was involved and comfortable. Coming in my first year was a big jump for me, so he was a great help to me, and he's been a big piece on the Island for a really long time. 

"It's really sad to see him go."

The Islanders will have a full season with Schenn and potentially Victor Eklund, a 19-year-old forward chosen in the first round (No. 16) of the 2025 NHL Draft who could break training camp with New York. Eklund had an assist in his NHL debut, a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on April 14, and 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in nine regular-season games for Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. 

Kyle Palmieri is also working toward a return after the forward tore his ACL in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 28.

Lee, who turns 36 on Friday, played the first 14 seasons of his NHL career for the Islanders since he was selected in the sixth round (No. 152) of the 2009 NHL Draft. He ranks fifth in team history in games (923), fourth in goals (308) and 10th in points (549), and has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 46 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

"I've lived that before," DeBoer said. "I was in San Jose when Joe Pavelski was in the exact same spot and went to Dallas and had career years in Dallas. We lost Zach (Parise from the New Jersey Devils to the Minnesota Wild) in his prime, so that's unfortunately the business of the NHL. My wish is Anders goes on and has career years in Utah and helps them, like I'm sure he will."