Lee’s Productive and Milestone-Filled Season

When Anders Lee reflected on his 29-goal, 54-point campaign for the New York Islanders, he pointed to a solid summer to help him have a resurgent season.

“I felt really good coming into camp,” Lee said. “Thought I took care of what I wanted to take care of and executed those things in the offseason. I was able to get my game back to a place where I wanted it to be.”

The 34-year-old winger led the Islanders in goals, but also set a career-high with 25 assists. His 54 points in the 2024-25 season marked the second-highest point total in his career, while he reached the 50-point mark for the fifth time. Lee’s teammates said he’s always been a consistent goal scorer, and his strong season came from hard work paying off.

“I think it’s a mixture of sometimes you get those bounces and those pucks to go in, and I think he had a really good summer of finding areas in his game to work on,” Noah Dobson said. “He came in motivated, and he got off to a great start, kept it rolling from there.”

In the 2024 offseason, Lee reportedly worked with Adam Oates, the Hall of Fame playmaker and former Washington Capitals head coach turned skills coach, who has also worked with Bo Horvat.

“He was fantastic this year," Horvat said. "Obviously the goals he scored, but both ends of the rink, his leadership and everything. Having a year like he did this year, you can see his confidence when he makes plays. He had a great year and I’m looking forward to playing with him next year.”

Lee has recorded 20+ goals in eight of the last nine seasons, with the only outlier being his injury-shortened season in 2020-21 where Lee scored 12 goals, but was limited to 27 games. His teammates take notice of how his off-ice preparation leads to his consistent scoring, while he sets an example for the team with how he carries himself.

“We see it on a day-to-day basis, he’s so dedicated," Adam Pelech said. "The work he puts in, in practice and in the gym, he does everything that a leader should do. He leads by example. He’s a great goal scorer, he’s proven it before and he’s a major part of our team.”

Lee is known for his net-front presence, using his size and skill to get those greasy goals, always battling in front of the net.

“I don’t know if there’s a better net-front player around the league,” Scott Mayfield said. “I wouldn’t want to battle with him in front of the net, I know what it’s like in practice. He uses his strength, when he gets opportunities, he’s able to capitalize on them.”

Lee played his 800^th career game this season on Jan. 9 in a 4-0 shutout win over the Vegas Golden Knights, but he also hit a couple more important milestones before the season was over. He passed Brent Sutter and Pat LaFontaine for sole possession of sixth place on the franchise list with 289 goals, six shy of Brock Nelson for fifth place.

The Isles captain earned his 500^th career NHL point this season in a 4-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Mar. 20, while also passing Derek King for sole possession of 13^th place in franchise history. He finished the season with a total of 507 points, six points shy of tying Bobby Nystrom for 12^th on the franchise list. The 500-point milestone is a mark of durability and productivity in the NHL, where he spent all 12 seasons with the Islanders.

“It’s the best league in the world, it’s not easy to get in the league and play, and it’s also harder to maintain and sustain and be a productive player for a long time, but that’s what he’s done,” Dobson said. “He’s obviously a big part of our team, our leader, it’s a cool milestone.”

Like any competitor, Lee is hungry to keep working to improve his game, with ambitions to have another strong offseason and start to next year.

“There’s still plays, there’s still goals and touches that I would want back and still think I can improve on,” Lee said. “I still believe I can go home this summer and re-evaluate and take a look at everything and come back a better player. That’s part of the challenge that I really enjoy, trying to continue to hold myself to a place I wanted to get to.”