- Anders Lee signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract with the Utah Mammoth
- The deal carries a $5.4 million cap hit and ends his 14 seasons with the Islanders
- Read below for what Lee’s exit means for New York and Utah
Anders Lee is leaving Long Island for the first time in his career.
The longtime New York Islanders captain signed a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday, the first day of NHL free agency. The deal is worth $16.2 million and carries a $5.4 million cap hit through the 2028-29 season.
Lee spent parts of 14 seasons with the Islanders, the only NHL home he had ever known. New York drafted him in the sixth round in 2009 and watched a late-round flier turn into one of the better net-front forwards of his generation.
His signature season came in 2017-18, when he scored 40 goals and led the team. New York gave him the captaincy in October 2018, and he wore the C for the rest of his time on the Island.
He had said he wanted to finish his career in New York, and the Islanders tried to keep him. Lee tested the market anyway once free agency opened, and Utah got it done.
Utah is building something in its second year in Salt Lake City. The Mammoth added goaltender Sebastian Cossa earlier Wednesday, and now they land a veteran finisher and a proven voice for a young core.
Now 35 and days from turning 36, Lee no longer scores 40. He still parks himself in front of the net and buries the greasy ones, though, and that part of his game tends to age fine.
New York moves on without the face of its franchise for the better part of a decade. The Mammoth get a captain who knows how to score the goals that decide playoff games.
