Isles taking things slow with Lee, Pageau — The Fourth Period
The New York Islanders walked into the 2025-26 campaign with an understanding that they will be patient in any moves they make, as new GM Mathieu Darche further evaluates his group.
Islanders captain Anders Lee and veteran centre Jean-Gabriel Pageau are playing on expiring contracts and the players and team are expected to discuss their future down the line, something all parties remain comfortable with.
In an interview on the DFO Rundown Insider Edition on Wednesday with Irfaan Gaffar and David Pagnotta, Darche explained his plan of attack with his pending unrestricted free agents and reiterated his position as it relates to potential extensions.
“The two players, when the season started, I said ‘let’s see where we’re going.’ So, I’m sure we’ll look at it down the line, but they understand where we were. I’m knew, I was evaluating the team, and they’ve both played really well for us this year,” Darche said.
“So, they’re important veterans. You’re talking about good veterans with Matthew (Schaefer) and Cal Richie – those guys are outstanding professionals, outstanding people. Anders and J.G. and even a lot of other good leaders, even if the contracts aren’t expiring. But what’s great is they understood where I was when the season started and they’ve played great. So by playing great, it just put themselves in a good position.
“So, yeah, that was the plan from the start. I communicated that with them. And we keep going and keep pushing along in the season.”
Lee, 35 is in the final year of a seven-year, $49 million contract and owns a 15-team no-trade list as part of his deal.
Pageau, 33, is in the sixth year of a six-year, $30 million deal and has a 16-team no-trade list in his contract.
With the Islanders sitting second in the Metropolitan Division with a 24-15-4 record and 52 points, they are within striking distance of top seed and could look to add later this season if they remain in contention.
Meanwhile, Darche also indicated that forward Bo Horvat is a few games away from returning from injury.
