Islanders Outlook: Anders Lee Profile & Projection
Islanders Outlook: Bo Horvat Profile & Projection When the
New York Islanders lost Mathew Barzal and other key players to injury, Bo Horvat stepped up with timely goals and clutch performances.
Up Next: Anders Lee
After a disappointing 2023-24 season, New York Islanders captain Anders Lee bounced back in 2024-25.
Lee tallied 54 points (29 goals, 25 assists) in 82 games, leading his team in goals while finishing second in points.
He was also one of just three skaters to play in all 82 games, doing so for the fourth time in his career.
Lee's 2024-25 resurgence stemmed from his improved skating, something he worked on in the offseason with Adam Oates, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and former Washington Capitals head coach.
As a result, Lee won more puck battles in the offensive zone, especially around the net, and the goals followed, with 25 of Lee's 29 goals coming from within a stride of the crease. This was not new to his game, but it was especially prominent last season.
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/players/new-york-islanders-anders-lee-bo-horvat-adam-oates-warrior-bauer-2024-25
His production was not a result of luck, either, as he set a career high in individual expected goals per 60 minutes (1.63) and total shots (233), showing he was generating offense at an incredibly high rate, according to Natural Stat Trick.
In doing so, he also set a career-high in rebounds generated per 60 minutes (2.36), which led to a team-leading 3.2 goals per 60 minutes with Lee on the ice.
Lee's impact allowed the Islanders to control play, ultimately outscoring opponents 69-60 at even strength and 83-66 across all strengths with the Minnesota native on the ice.
His 53.49% even-strength goals percentage led all lineup-regular forwards.
That said, Lee's end to the season was not great, managing just 18 points (nine goals, nine assists) over his final 37 games,
Defensively, he struggled as well, finishing fifth-worst among forwards in goals against per 60 minutes (3.01) and fourth-worst in expected goals against per 60 (3.04) at even strength.
He also finished the season with a -10 penalty minute differential, taking five more minor penalties than he drew, effectively costing the Islanders around 1.1 goals.
Final Verdict: A-
While Lee's season was not perfect, he brought more positives than negatives to a forward core that lost star Mathew Barzal for the majority of the season.
Lee also bounced around the lineup, never spending more than 175 minutes in a single line combination.
Comparatively, he spent 483 minutes with Barzal and Bo Horvat in 2023-24, and 309 minutes with Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier in 2022-23, making 2024-25 a difficult season to find his footing.
Heading into 2025-26, Lee's spot in the lineup remains a question mark, especially with the additions of Jonathan Drouin and Maxim Shabanov.
Historically, Lee has fared quite well alongside Barzal, with the Lee-Horvat-Barzal line dominating in 2023-24.
With Barzal returning to center and Drouin likely to play alongside Horvat, coach Patrick Roy may opt to add more speed and skill to Barzal's wing, potentially limiting Lee to a third-line role.
For now, this won't be an issue, as third-line center JG Pageau is expected to remain on the roster, and the two forwards have outscored opponents 36-29 in nearly 1,000 even-strength minutes when together over the past three seasons.
Lee will most definitely remain on the power play as a dominant, net-front presence, likely on the first unit.
While he will go from finishing third among all Islanders forwards in 5v5 TOI in 2024-25 to a third-line role, his productivity should remain unchanged as he may face more favorable matchups with the Islanders icing a more well-rounded forward group.
Now 35 years old, staying healthy and getting extra rest will have a greater impact on his effectiveness, especially as his hard-nosed style of play should continue creating offense, even if it is now from the bottom six – an area the Islanders struggled to generate scoring last season.
Considering Lee has missed only seven games over the past four years and has topped the 20-goal mark in eight of the last nine seasons, Islanders fans can reasonably expect another 20–25 goal campaign.
The one season Lee fell short of 20 goals was 2020-21, when he sustained a season-ending knee injury in his 27th game of the season. He was leading the team with 12 goals at the time of the injury.
While Lee's assist totals may decline next season, he still projects to finish in the 40–50 point range.
CoreNHL's model projects Lee to provide an estimated $5.5 million of value in 2025-26.
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