VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It might have seemed like a deadline for some, but it never was for the Islanders or Anders Lee.
So the first-year captain is going into the week-long “courting period” starting Sunday with the ability for his agent to speak to other teams. If no deal with the Islanders gets done before July 1, then Lee will become an unrestricted free agent.
At a charity event in New York on Saturday, Lee made it clear he didn’t want it to come to this and he has not enjoyed the process.
“I didn’t think we’d get to this point,” Lee told NHL.