NY Islanders could face Brock Nelson-like situation with Anders Lee

The NY Islanders head into this upcoming season with renewed hopes. After a largely disappointing season, the club’s fan base was rewarded with Matthew Schaefer. Then, the tough-love choice to move on from Noah Dobson landed the Isles two more promising prospects.

The signing of Jonathan Drouin and the return of Kyle Palmieri give the Islanders’ lineup the veteran scoring jolt it needed. Everything seems to be going well enough. Optimism is at a high heading into the final days of summer.

But there’s a lingering issue the Islanders must tend to sooner rather than later. That issue lies in re-signing captain Anders Lee.

Lee had a resurgent season last year, nearly hitting the 30-goal mark. While some might have believed the 35-year-old was washed up, he proved he’s still got plenty left in the tank. There’s no question that Lee remains a valuable piece to the club.

But the captain will be a UFA next summer. That’s a situation that threatens to play out much the same way it did with Brock Nelson this past season. As such, the Islanders may face the tough choice of either re-signing or trading Lee.

Personally, the former is the more palatable one. Re-signing Lee maintains a semblance of order within the team. His leadership is undeniable, while his contributions on the ice continue to be valuable.

But if the Isles can’t re-sign Lee, they may have no other choice but to trade him. Yes, the Brock Nelson trade landed the Isles a good return. But there’s no guarantee the Isles will strike gold a second time.

Unless the NY Islanders trade Anders Lee in the midst of a career season, the return could be underwhelming. That’s a risk not worth taking.

Trading Lee would create leadership vacuum in NY Islanders’ dressing room

Beyond Anders Lee’s production, his leadership is crucial to the team’s success. As such, his departure would create a leadership vacuum in the Isles’ dressing room.

Sure, other players can step up like Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal. But the fact is that a player like Anders Lee isn’t easily replaced. This situation wouldn’t be a case of the next man up. It would be a situation of having the team readjust its leadership structure to accommodate the loss of such a key figure.

If anything, the best time to trade Lee would be now. The offseason would allow the club some time to psychologically adjust to the change in leadership, especially during training camp.

So, one might think, well, the Islanders should hold on to Lee the entire season. If he leaves via free agency, the team will have next summer and training camp to figure things out.

Yes, that’s a plausible scenario. But would it be worth it to let Lee walk away from the team for nothing?

Ultimately, the best thing the NY Islanders can do is extend Lee. The numbers are a topic for another discussion. But at the very least, the Isles should do their best to keep the captain on the club for what would be the rest of his career.