Projecting What NY Islanders Captain Anders Lee's Next Contract Could Look Like

How much will New York Islanders captain Anders Lee sign for this offseason?

Mar 17, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee (27) skates during the warmup before a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the New York Islanders get set for free agency to start on Wednesday afternoon, the team will be having some big decisions to make regarding the path forward. 

Coming off a surprisingly good campaign, which included them being in the playoff race right down to the wire, the Islanders' plan is a bit hard to figure out right now. At the trade deadline, the team acquired a couple of veterans to help push them toward the playoffs. Unfortunately, those moves didn’t result in them getting some bad contracts on the books. 

Now, despite a need to improve, New York is lacking the salary cap space to do so. This free agency class isn’t the greatest on paper, but there would be a couple of options who could have helped. 

Furthermore, as the team hopes to improve, they also have a key part of their franchise heading to test the open waters. That player is captain Anders Lee. 

What Will Anders Lee's Contract Look Like?

Mar 22, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin (30) celebrates with left wing Anders Lee (27) after defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets at UBS Arena. / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With the captain of the Islanders hitting the open market, it is going to be interesting to see what the interest level in the 35-year-old is going to be. Lee is coming off a solid season in which he totaled 42 points with 19 goals and 23 assists. The veteran can still be a productive player on the ice and is still a middle-six forward in the league. 

However, with a relatively new front office, the team appears to be looking to try and get younger and create cap flexibility for the future. According to AFP Analytics, Lee’s contract projection is a three-year deal worth $6.6 million a year. 

That projection does seem a little bit steep in terms of the years, especially. Getting a three-year deal at 35 years old seems a bit unlikely, but with the free agent market not being the best, anything is possible. 

For the Islanders, while they would like to have their captain back, they do have some cap constraints, and with some bad contracts on the books, handing out a three-year deal to a 35-year-old doesn’t seem like it would be the wisest move. However, New York could certainly use a player with his production level back in the lineup. 

There should certainly be a number of suitors for Lee, and one of them could be his hometown Minnesota Wild. As a contender and being where he was from, they certainly make a lot of sense as a potential landing spot.