Lee-Surgent Season

Anders Lee's production hasn't slowed down

Good Morning, Islanders Country.

Anders Lee was supposed to be on the decline.

Yes, some defended that he was still a 20-goal scorer last season, but the eye test showed a player on the back end of his career. Lee was still a productive player but diminishing, and the chatter that his $7M AAV was an overpay that the Islanders were saddled with was often constant.

Something had to change, and it did - starting over the summer.

“Worked on a lot of little things that I think paid some big dividends,” Lee said back in November about training with Hall-of-Famer Adam Oates. “Just came in feeling really good. Body’s in a great spot. Felt really good on the ice and just tried to continue that through. Like everyone else, try to go into each summer believing that you can come out of it a better hockey player. Went in with a great mindset and did a lot of great stuff.”

Those comments were made after a strong start to the season. At that point, the 34-year-old Lee was a nice story, but he hasn’t slowed down and has sustained his production in the sixth year of his seven-year contract. His contract is no longer perceived as an overpay, and if made available over the summer, he would generate a lot of interest from teams around the league.

The Athletic’s Player Cards, which show each player’s market value based on total contributions, have Lee with a surplus Market Value of $2.0 million this season.

Lee has also made the most of his opportunities, leading the Islanders in goal-scoring (even before Brock Nelson was traded), and is T-32 in the league after reaching the 25-goal mark for the seventh time in his career on Tuesday night in LA. Per MoneyPuck, he has the 13th-highest expected goals total in the league, higher than players like Nathan MacKinnon and William Nylander.

In doing so, Lee joined a list of only four other Islanders who have done it: Bryan Trottier (12), Mike Bossy (10), Clark Gillies (7), and John Tavares (7). Four Hall-of-Famers have their banner hanging and Tavares, who will end up in the HOF as well, but something tells me he won’t have a jersey retirement at UBS Arena.

In a season when the Islanders have failed to live up to expectations, Lee has exceeded them, proving he remains a vital force for the team. Not only has he reclaimed his scoring touch, but he has also reminded fans and the league that he is still capable of leading both in the dressing room and on the ice. The question is no longer whether he can still do it, but now will be, can he do it again?