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The NY Islanders could enter the 2026-27 season without a captain

ByMichael Stahurski|
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Mar 21, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) stretches during warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images
Mar 21, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) stretches during warm-up before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After eight seasons as the leader of the NY Islanders, Anders Lee has moved on from the only organization he has known in his professional career, signing a three-year deal with the Utah Mammoth this off-season.

At this juncture, just over two months before the start of the 2026-27 season, the Islanders are without a captain. And according to Peter DeBoer, before his full season as bench boss, there’s the possibility the Islanders will enter the season without a captain.

“I want to spend training camp with the group again, get a little more feel for the players and the options,” DeBoer told Peter Baugh of The Athletic. “Then we’ll make some decisions.”

The Islanders have several leaders in the locker room, but if a captain is named, Matthew Schaefer and Bo Horvat appear to be the two leading candidates.

Schaefer, entering his second NHL season and turning 19 days before the Isles’ first game, is mature beyond his years, but does it make sense to put the weight of a franchise on the shoulders of a teenager?

“I think he’s already a respected voice in that dressing room,” DeBoer said. “Having said that, he’s an 18, 19-year-old player, and he’s got an awful lot on his plate individually. Will he be part of our (leadership) group? Absolutely, he will, and I think he’s got future captain written all over him. But I think we have to be very careful not to put too much on his plate too early.”

Horvat, who was previously the Captain of the Vancouver Canucks, is entering his fifth season on Long Island, wearing an “A” in the last three. Since day one with the Islanders, Horvat has taken on a notable leadership role and is the likely front-runner for the position. 

With just over a month before the start of training camp, DeBoer and Mathieu Darche will decide whether to play with a captain this season or have three players wear the “A”. The last time the Islanders played without a captain was during the 2000-01 season when Kenny Jonsson stepped down as captain weeks into the new season.

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