![\"Anders](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-03-23T014513Z_1081332017_MT1USATODAY28567368_RTRMADP_3_NHL-COLUMBUS-BLUE-JACKETS-AT-NEW-YORK-IS.jpeg\" "\\"Anders")
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Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27) after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
\t\tONLY IN AMNEWYORK<\/p>\n
EAST MEADOW, NY \u2014\u00a0New York Islanders captain Anders Lee is solely and unsurprisingly focused on the task at hand, which is finding a way to get his team into the playoffs on the heels of a four-game losing streak and a shocking change at head coach with four games remaining in the regular season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But for as much as there is a need for these Islanders to \u201cprove who you are,\u201d to new bench boss Pete DeBoer, for Lee, it adds a new wrinkle to the assessment of his future. The 35-year-old left-winger\u2019s seven-year contract ends whenever New York\u2019s season does \u2014 whether that is in the coming days, should this losing streak continue, or in the playoffs. He will become a free agent on July 1, and he is admittedly keeping notes about the start of the DeBoer era under first-year general manager Mathieu Darche in the back of his mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always have a pulse of what\u2019s going on and how we\u2019re doing and the whole deal,\u201d Lee told amNewYork on Wednesday. \u201cObviously, there\u2019ve been moves and stuff like that. But this year for me, as much as there\u2019s been things to think about \u2014 and you\u2019re not going to avoid yourself thinking about it \u2014 my focus is to help this team prepare every day, show up in the games, and do what I can to help us win and get into the playoffs, and the rest of it will take care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
True to the form of the character that wears the \u201cC,\u201d Lee has handled the fluidity of his role this season in stride. He has ridden the carousel between the first and third lines, mainly inhabiting a bottom-six role for the majority of Patrick Roy\u2019s final weeks as head coach. Yet he is still on the verge of hitting the 20-goal mark for a 10th time in his career<\/a>, making him just the fourth Islander ever to have 10 20-plus-goal campaigns (Bryan Trottier, Brent Sutter, Mike Bossy).\u00a0<\/p>\n DeBoer\u2019s first impressions of his new captain are what he described as \u201cexactly as advertised.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a quality person,\u201d DeBoer began. \u201cI\u2019ve watched him from the other bench for a decade. He\u2019s honest, he\u2019s hard, he plays the right way. He\u2019s always one of those guys from the other bench where you say, \u2018Boy, I wish I had that guy on my team.’\u201d<\/p>\n For how long he\u2019ll have Lee, though, remains to be seen. If the Islanders miss the playoffs, Darche could continue chipping away at the long-time core of this team that has not reached the heights of back-to-back Stanley Cup semifinal appearances in 2020 and 2021. Lee\u2019s expiring contract becomes an understandable target for cutting ties with to free up more cash to rebuild the team more in Darche\u2019s vision.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a bridge to cross when both parties get there, though. They still have a chance despite trailing the Ottawa Senators for the second and final Eastern Conference Wild Card berth and the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division by three points heading into Thursday night\u2019s tilt against the Toronto Maple Leafs at UBS Arena.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think our task is at hand and focused on the next four games,\u201d Lee said. \u201cEspecially Thursday. I think anytime a move like this happens, and there\u2019s a change of guard there, you have to prove who you are. You have to show the coach what you\u2019re made of and what your game is. So everyone\u2019s got something to prove on an individual level, and we have something to prove as a team that we can come back from a tough week and a losing streak and continue to fight for that playoff spot that we set out to go for at the beginning of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Pete](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2025-05-30T032144Z_304567323_MT1USATODAY26324342_RTRMADP_3_NHL-STANLEY-CUP-PLAYOFFS-EDMONTON-OILERS-.jpeg\" "\\"Anders")
Pete DeBoer Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images<\/p>\n