Mathieu Darche and Anders Lee discussed the NY Islanders' captain's future at breakup day

Set for his second summer in charge of the NY Islanders, GM Mathieu Darche will have one goal in mind this off-season. Building a roster to return to the postseason. With Anders Lee's contract set to expire on July 1, the biggest question will be whether or not he is a member of this team come opening night.

Lee, who will be 36 on opening night, was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft, playing his entire career on Long Island. While there is no deal in place at this time, and 77 games from 1,000, there is mutual interest from both parties for Lee to play out the remainder of his career in blue and orange.

"I told Anders, I'd love to see him play his 1,000th game with the Islanders," Darche told the media on breakup day. "What that looks like, whether we are able to find something that's suitable for us and for him, we'll discuss. I know he's not far from it. I'd love to do that. But I'm always looking for what other options we have to move this roster forward. The way Anders played this year, I think he can still help us. The question is, do we get to an agreement that makes sense for him and makes sense for us?"

Like every member of the team, there were exit meetings with the GM and head coach Peter DeBoer. Now that the season is over, it's the right place to begin discussions on whether a new deal can be hatched out between the two sides.

"It's pretty important," Lee said of his meeting with Darche. "We can pick up and begin to figure things out here. Have that conversation and see where he's at, and likewise with myself. Like I said the other morning, I've been focusing on us and the team and trying to get us into the playoffs, and playing good hockey and all those things. And likewise from his position. That was the focus. We're at that time where we can do this now.

Since returning from an ACL injury that forced him to miss the majority of the 2020-21 season and the run to the Semi-Finals, Lee has been incredibly durable, missing just seven games over the past five years. He finished this season fourth on the team in goals and remains an invaluable asset as the Captain.

With two months to go before the start of free agency, there's time to come to an agreement. But as Lee and Darche both said, it has to be something that works for both parties.

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