Yesterday, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun gave us an update on where things stands between the New York Islanders and pending unrestricted free agent forward Anders Lee:
Realistically, no general manager is going to publicly say he has no interest in bringing back a longtime captain as respected as Lee.
And I do believe that there’s interest from both sides. But, my take on the situation is that, if general manager Mathieu Darche is able to clear cap space AND improve the roster AND bring Lee back on a very team-friendly deal, that’s the route they’ll go.
The Islanders do have the cap space, right now, to bring Lee back.
If it’s not the Islanders, I do think Lee ends up in Minnesota. I think it will be between those two because if he’s leaving Long Island, it’s to chase a Stanley Cup for his hometown Wild.
But, let’s get to the “roster improvement” part.