With the Islanders season coming to an end, one of the biggest offseason story lines will be the fate of their captain Anders Lee. Lee is set to hit free agency in July with his 7 year 49 million dollar contract coming to an end. So, the big question is, does he stay or does he go?
Some pretext, Lee has been a fantastic Islander, captain & community ambassador. From his first NHL goal against Winnipeg at the Coliseum to the winning goal against the Panthers on March 1st his on ice contributions have been immeasurable. Off ice, what hes done with charity and his Jam Kancer tournament is just remarkable.
However, with Darche going into year 2 and now Peter DeBoer behind the bench and the collapse the Islanders just went through, changes need to be made and the biggest one that can be made is letting the captain walk and going in a different direction.
Since Barry Trotz left, this team has just not been good enough. That has been with Lee as captain, and then this year the collapse following the Olympic break is inexplicable. Now, all the flaws of the team since Trotz left don't fall on the players, a lot falls on poor roster construction by the previous group in charge. But things like this years collapse I feel like you have no choice but to look inward at the leadership group in the locker room.
In the end, it will be really weird to see Lee playing somewhere else, but ultimately I think it will be for the best because how are we ever supposed to get better if we just keep retaining the same guys over and over again?
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