The distinction of “Captain” on an NHL team is among the highest honors in professional sports. It comes with responsibility not only for your own play and your own conduct, but for the play and conduct of your teammates. As the Captain of an NHL team, if you’re a good one, you’re a leader in what you say and what you do. It’s not a task to be taken lightly. You’d be hard-pressed to find an NHL Captain more dedicated to his role than Anders Lee.
Lee served as the Captain of the New York Islanders from 2018-19 until the conclusion of last season.
Lee On The Ice
Born in Edina, Minnesota, Lee was drafted by the New York Islanders in the 6th round of the 2009 NHL draft. That was the same draft that the Islanders took John Tavares with the first overall pick – but more on that later.
Lee spent parts of 14 seasons with the Islanders, amassing 549 points in the form of 308 goals and 241 assists. Of those 14 seasons, he played in at least 80 games 8 times. And another 2 seasons with 76 games played. In any sport, that kind of reliability would be admirable, but this is the NHL, which makes those numbers downright impressive.
With all that said, Lee’s contributions to the Islanders and Long Island go well beyond his performance on the ice.
Lee In The Community
A speech by 15-year-old cancer patient Fenov Pierre-Louis at a charity event in New Jersey started it all. Upon hearing the speech, Lee was motivated to get involved. And he did. In a big way.
In 2017, a year after hearing the speech, Lee held his first “Anders Lee Kancer Jam”. The guest of honor that night? It wasn’t any of Lee’s Islanders teammates, who were all in attendance that night. The guest of honor was none other than Fenov Pierre-Louis. The event raised over one-hundred thousand dollars. It even went as far as to serve as a catalyst for other NHL players to start their own “Kancer Jams”.
The world lost Pierre-Louis on July 18, 2018. However, his legacy lives on in Lee’s Kancer Jam – as well as Kancer Jams put on by NHLers Zach Bogosian and Kevin Shattenkirk. Further, he is remembered through the Fenov Scholarships, established by Lee himself.
Perhaps most importantly, Pierre-Louis lives on in the lasting friendship he forged with Anders Lee and countless others.
Donations to “Jam Kancer In The Kan” can be made here: https://jamkancerinthekan.networkforgood.com/
Lee Wears The “C”
February 28th, 2019. Nassau Coliseum. Uniondale, New York.
There is a reason a healthy portion of the 13,917 people in attendance that night chanted in unison: “That’s-Our-Captain” after Anders Lee scored the second goal for the Islanders that night.
Sure, he was their captain. That checks out.
And, sure, Tavares was visiting that night. But I digress. Look that one up for more information.
It was more than that, though. Long Island had a captain they could be proud of, and they weren’t going to be shy about showing it. The Islanders beat the Maple Leafs that night 6-1, and it was Lee’s goal that proved to be the eventual winner. Don’t think for a second Islanders fans will ever forget the part Lee played in beating Tavares and the Leafs that night, but again, I digress.
Selfishly, it’s an important memory for me too, as that was my first season as an Islanders fan.
All Class, Even Now
The NHL is a business. And in business, difficult decisions are made. As such, Anders Lee is no longer the captain of the New York Islanders. In fact, he’s no longer a member of the franchise at all.
Over the summer, Lee signed a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth. A well-earned 3-year, $16.2M contract. Lee’s contributions to the Islanders as their captain were not lost on the General Manager of the Mammoth, Bill Armstrong. Speaking of Lee, Armstrong was quick to highlight not only Lee’s prowess on the ice, but his leadership too. Armstrong classified Lee as a “great captain in the National Hockey League,” and from where I’m sitting, he’s right on the money.
With Lee no longer on Long Island, the Islanders were in need of a new captain. That honor was given to Bo Horvat, a decision met with strong support all across the island. The new captain was undoubtedly on the receiving end of many “congratulations” calls from family, friends and members of the NHL.
One of the most important “congratulations” calls came from the Islanders’ former captain – Anders Lee.
Despite being a member of another team, Anders Lee is still showing what it means to be Captain Class on Long Island.
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