It’s been something that has been said on social media about Emil Heineman who has been a big part of the Islanders after coming over from Montreal in the Noah Dobson trade this past offseason. But that phrase “you don’t trade a player like…” can also apply to someone else on the Islanders.
While there has been internet chatter that the Islanders should trade him before the deadline…
…you don’t trade a player like Captain Anders Lee who scored a spectacular goal with 32 seconds left in regulation to give the Islanders a 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers Sunday night at a sold-out UBS Arena.
With 43.8 seconds to go in regulation, the Islanders were able to gain possession following a defensive zone faceoff and Tony DeAngelo connected with Lee on a long pass to center ice. Lee, with a burst of speed, skated around Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, got to the front of the net and beat Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovski for the game-winning goal.
“I finally got a puck I liked (Sunday night),” said Lee. “It was one of those nights that we just had to stick with it. I was able to get around (Ekblad) and slide it past (Bobrovsky). It’s awesome. It’s fun. That’s why we play the game.”
So much for that chatter from some members of Isles Twitter, including a guy who told me last week that Lee “is a corpse now…he does nothing well anymore. He’s approaching unplayable territory. They need better players…he’s had a really poor year.”
Corpse?
Unplayable?
A really poor year?
All Lee has done in the last week was score the game-tying goal in Montral Thursday night, a goal in Columbus on Saturday night and the game winner Sunday night.
The Captain looks very much alive!
“It was a great goal by Leesy on that one,” said Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy. “Coming around Ekblad and beating him to the net. It was great. It’s nice to see someone be rewarded with the way he’s playing and how hard he’s playing every day. He’s been a great mentor for a lot of guys and showing great leadership.”
The goal was Lee’s 14th of the season, but scoring goals is not all that he has meant to this team at the age of 35. It’s the little things that he contributes both on and off the ice that continues to make him a valuable member of the organization. He leads by example and is a huge part of the community.
He’s an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but Lee should not go anywhere. He should not be traded and the Islanders should not let him walk as a free agent. The Islanders should sign him to an extension.
“He does little things away from the puck too that go unnoticed,” said Islanders forward Bo Horvat who scored a goal in Sunday night’s win. “His ability to get to the net and create havoc up front and then he shows off his speed there and burns a guy wide and buries it in such a big way for us. He’s been great for us all year and to see him get rewarded for a play like that at the end of a big game like this is definitely feels good to see.”
“He saved us from going in overtime,” said Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer who scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season in the win. “A big goal by him.”
A huge goal in front of another full house of 17,255, the Islanders 12th straight sellout and the Islanders first home game in almost a month following the Olympic break. To say that Islanders Country has fallen in love with this team would be an understatement.
Lee certainly electrified the fans with a goal that almost blew the roof off the building.
“It’s been a long time,” said Lee. “We were excited to get home because we’ve been winning hockey games. Our fans support us and they bring that energy and that helps us immensely in these games. There’s nothing better than a sellout crowd here at UBS (Arena).”
Lee and the Islanders now embark on a four-game road trip starting Wednesday night in Anaheim. Sunday night’s win kept them tied with the Penguins with 75 points, but Pittsburgh is in possession of 2nd place because they have two games in hand.
It was a huge for victory for the Islanders who now have 21 games to go as they compete for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
“It’s a big two points for us,” said Lee. “We’re putting our push on and we got teams behind us that are chasing and we have to keep putting as much space as we can and take it game by game.”
With all due respect to Emil Heineman, you don’t trade a player like Anders Lee. He’s been a great Captain for the Islanders and he still contributes in so many ways.