New York Islanders: Anders Lee named team captain

Anders Lee has been declared the new captain of the NYI. Replacing John Tavares, Lee will be leading this team into the new era of Islanders hockey.

Anders Lee is not your prototypical superstar selection. In fact, the New York Islanders probably dreamed of the days they would hoist a Stanley Cup under the John Tavares era. But alas, they didn’t. Now, they seem to be going in a much different direction, not that they have much of a choice.

With Tavares leaving the island for his hometown by joining the Toronto Maple Leafs this offseason, there is a massive void to fill for the Islanders. Their best chance at winning with a bonafide elite player is gone.

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Young star Mathew Barzal is officially their go-to scorer, but he is not Tavares. He has all the tools to produce on the offensive end and become their new star, but still, the student hasn’t surpassed the teacher – yet.

Tavares has been a leader by example his whole career. Long story short, nothing really seemed to work with the Islanders. If it wasn’t the lack of goaltending, it was the lack of good defenders or a strong supporting cast. For all those reasons, it was best for Tavares to call it quits. The time has come for the Islanders to start a new chapter in their storied history, and it will start with Lee as the new captain.

Was Lee a Good Choice?

Now, more than ever, the Islanders need guidance and leadership. They are not considered playoff team, but they have players ready to prove themselves. Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle and Barzal will have plenty of work to do moving forward, as will youngsters like Anthony Beauvillier. The same can be said for their revamped bottom-six. Their defense has come together but they are still inconsistent and unreliable. On top of that, this team needs to shoulder a heavy load of offensive production without Tavares.

Lee, who is now 28, had the best season of his career last year, scoring 40 goals and 62 points in 82 games. In his four seasons with the Islanders, Lee has missed just nine games in total. He is an absolute workhorse, has shown significant improvement over the last few seasons in his game, and looks primed to be a major part of the Islanders franchise moving forward. A better question would be, is there really a better choice than Lee? It doesn’t look like it.

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The biggest question mark surrounding this decision is Lee’s contract. He becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019, and one must wonder how confident the Islanders are that he will re-sign. If he chooses to play elsewhere, this may need to get chalked up as another blunder by the Islanders staff.

Alternatively, there seems to be nothing but opportunity for Lee to take on this team and help lead them into the next chapter. For the Islanders sake, hopefully, it lasts longer than the 2018-19 season.

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