New York Islanders: 5 things the Isles completely wasted this season

One of the few things to look forward to towards the end of the season was Anders Lee’s quest to score 40 goals. The moment he did was bittersweet. It’s a great accomplishment but also another wasted thing about this season.

Anders Lee finished the year with exactly 40 goals, good enough to finish the regular season in the top 10 in the league.

Much like how assists are only one aspect of the game, goal scoring is another. Mat Barzal is an elite puck handler and Lee is an elite goal scorer. They both did their things in great numbers this year and for nothing.

Lee’s quest for 40 was fun to watch. It shined a light on a lot of meaningless games down the stretch but once again the party ends early. Of the six people who scored more goals than Lee, five of them are on playoff teams.

What that means is this: teams with competent GMs and coaches know how to build around someone who can score that many goals.

The Islanders do not. The only player with more goals than Lee on a non-playoff team is Connor McDavid. He is a once-in-a-generation player on the Oilers, who might be more inept than the Islanders.

So, the Isles have a player who can score 40 goals. Goal scoring was not an issue and the Islanders did not have to worry about that. It emphasized where the actual issues were and the team still did nothing.

Congrats, Anders. Please don’t ever leave the Islanders, even though they wasted the best season of your career. You can’t spell “Islanders” without “Anders.”