When you think about the history of the Islanders, there have been so many great players to wear the orange and blue and many of those great players dominate the franchise’s all-time records.
Take all-time goals for example.
Mike Bossy is first with 573 goals with Bryan Trottier in second with 500. Then comes Dennis Potvin with 310, Clark Gillies with 304 and then Brent Sutter and Pat Lafontaine tied with 287.
And then there’s a couple of current Islanders that are poised to move up the list.
Brock Nelson is currently 7th with 285 and coming up right behind him is Captain Anders Lee who moved into sole possession of 8th place on the all-time list with his 273rd career goal in Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss to the Kings a UBS Arena.
Lee finds himself in some pretty special company.
“It’s crazy,” said Lee who passed former Islanders Captain John Tavares with that goal on Tuesday night.
“I’m fortunate enough to be part of this organization for a long time. It’s a special place. My family is home. It’s our home. I take a lot of pride playing for the Islanders.”
Last season, Lee tallied 20 goals, his lowest number since scoring 12 in the COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season. This season, Lee is on pace to score 36 goals as he now has 13 goals to go along with 11 assists for 24 points in 30 games.
Lee has been terrific this season and the Islanders have needed it with injuries to Mat Barzal and Anthony Duclair.
He has 11 points (six goals and five assists) over his last 9 games. Lee has now scored in back-to-back games and scored in three straight games from November 27th to November 30th when he scored the 41st game-winning goal of his career tying Clark Gillies for 6th most in team history. He has scored a goal in 9 of the Islanders’ 11 wins this season.
Lee has more than helped pick up the slack but he also knows he’s had a little help from his friends.
“I’ve had some great linemates,” said Lee. “We’ve been playing pretty good hockey as lines and taking advantage of some looks. I feel good out there and feel good with (the puck) on my stick. I’ve been on the receiving end of some good plays. We’re just going out there every night and doing what we can to help win hockey games.”
So much for the negative chatter about Lee from some Islanders fans on social media...
“He’s washed up”
“Time to trade Lee”
“Isles should move on from Lee”
It’s clear that rumors of Lee’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
“It started in training camp,” said Head Coach Patrick Roy. “He came into camp ready and from that day one, he’s been working really hard and showing a lot of consistency. It’s nice for him to be in the position that he is today on the history of the Islanders and I’m sure he wants more. Hopefully he can continue to get higher.”
It was a no-brainer for the Islanders to name Lee the 15th captain in team history prior to the 2018-19 season. He was coming off of a 40-goal campaign the season before and he has been as good a representative of the franchise as you can ask for on and off the ice.
It goes without saying what he means to the team but he is just as if not more valuable in the community, especially with his “Jam Kancer In The Kan” organization that is committed to raising funds for families affected by a cancer diagnosis by bringing group of people together to participate in “Kancer Jam” fundraising events.
Lee’s efforts in the community were rewarded when he was named last season’s winner of the King Clancy Award given to the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community.
He’s now 8th all-time in Islanders goal scoring, but he’s certainly a number one when it comes to being a great person.
“We, as a group, know how much he means to us in and outside of this room,” said Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri. “As part of the Islanders organization, you couldn’t ask for a better guy to have a “C” on his jersey and be representing the history and the culture of this organization. All the credit to him. It’s really an awesome milestone and I’m looking forward to seeing him keep climbing that list.”
Lee made his NHL debut during the 2012-13 season and became a regular in 2014-15 so this is his 11th full NHL season, all with the Islanders. He’s now put himself among the best to ever play for the franchise and will certainly be enshrined one day into the Islanders Hall of Fame.
Not bad for a 6th round pick in 2009.
“It’s incredible,” said Lee. “I never would have thought that this would be the case. That’s for sure. Just everyday coming in and giving everything you have and good things will happen. I’ve been fortunate enough to be on the right side of a few shots.”
As Anders Lee continues to move up the team’s all-time goal scoring list, his number one goal is to help the Islanders move up the NHL standings and compete for that elusive 5th Stanley Cup in team history.