Mathieu Darche gave a 263-word answer Wednesday when asked whether he still sees Anders Lee as the Islanders captain going forward.
Lots of them were complimentary. The door certainly didn’t close. There is a negotiation to be had.
But the Islanders general manager never used the word “yes.”
“I told Anders I’d love to see him play his 1,000th game with the Islanders,” Darche said. “What that looks like, whether we were able to find something that’s suitable for us and for him, we’ll discuss. But I know he’s not far from it.
“I’d love to see that, but I’m always looking forward to what other options we have. What do we need to do to help move this roster forward? But 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 for us?
“So we agreed, obviously, there’s meetings we have to go through. There’s not gonna be anything imminent. We’re gonna keep talking and see if there’s anything there.”
In short: This might come down to how big of a hometown discount Lee is willing to give the Isles.
We already know from Noah Dobson’s negotiations last year that once Darche sets a ceiling, he is unlikely to go over it. Lee, no matter where he signs, will almost certainly take a pay cut from his last deal, which ran seven years and averaged $7 million annually. Entering the offseason at age 35, two or three years feels likely, with the AAV likely depending in large part on the contract’s length.
Lee expressed Tuesday morning that his wish is to remain an Islander. But of course, the captain did not get into what number he’d be willing to accept with reporters.
If he is not on Long Island next season, it would represent a sea change in the makeup of the dressing room. Aside from the COVID-shortened 2021 year in which he tore his ACL, Lee has played at least 68 games for the Islanders in every season since 2014-15, and been their captain since 2018-19.
Watching him play his 1,000th game — he finished this season at 922, so if he stays healthy, that milestone would come next season — with any other team would, at a minimum, feel supremely odd.
“These are hard things to talk about because you don’t know,” said Ryan Pulock, who’s been Lee’s teammate for his entire NHL career. “And obviously when your contract is expired, you never know what could happen. I think he’s such a staple here. Such a key part of the success that we’ve had.
“A leader, a protector of all the guys in here. I think he’s really kinda done it all. Proud to have been his teammate, and hopefully for longer. But you don’t know. But I think what he’s done for this franchise, for the Island, he’s laid it all out there every single night. It’s been an honor to play with him.”
