New York Islanders: Extended or not, respect for Anders Lee never in doubt

So, why has Lee not been extended?

The answer to that is very complicated. To start, I find it surprising that he hasn’t been extended. Yet considering one of the first moves by the brilliant hockey minds the Islanders brought in was naming Lee as captain of the team. They called him captain right before the regular season, knowing he was going to be a free agent in July.

So dating back almost a year now it seemed as if the Islanders were super high on Lee. As it may be developing, they might be high on him as a person and leader, but not as a player. If this were three-four months ago, I would have been convinced Lee was not going anywhere. Now, its not looking so good.

That is likely because it is becoming apparent the Isles were more focused on bringing back their playoff heroes over Lee. And after Wednesday, it could potentially be their Vezina winning goalie.

But another thing that has to do with it is the term of the contract itself. It is no secret that Eberle and Nelson took less money and fewer years to stay, even if not by much, they did. Lehner implied he would do the same.

Lee, who now has experience as a captain of a team who won a playoff series, and a player who had a 40-goal season in the life of another contract, which shows skill is there, might not need to take any discounts if he can get a gnarly offer elsewhere. Which, who could blame him for taking it if he does?