Anders Lee is headed to the Utah Mammoth on a three-year, $16.2 million contract signed July 1, 2026. The move ends his 14-year run with the New York Islanders and gives Utah a veteran winger who reached 29 goals and 54 points in the 2024-25 season.
Lee leaves Long Island
Lee’s exit closes a long stretch on Long Island that began when the New York Islanders drafted him in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Draft as an overage prospect. He spent three years at the University of Notre Dame, then spent two years rotating between NHL and AHL lineups before his rookie NHL season in 2014-15.
That first full season showed why the Islanders kept building around him. Lee scored 25 goals and 41 points, then followed with 36 points the next year. He jumped again in the 2016-17 campaign, finishing with 34 goals and 52 points, before peaking at 40 goals and 62 points in the 2017-18 season.
Utah adds a veteran winger
The Utah Mammoth are adding Lee to a forward group that already includes Vincent Trocheck, Nick Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther. Andre Tourigny has that group pointed toward a second playoff bid next season, and Lee gives it a winger who has handled top-line work before and can still stay in the lineup.
He missed just one game since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, a useful marker for a team trying to stabilize its forward depth. Utah also brought in Trocheck from the East Coast to Salt Lake City, signaling a clear push to add established scorers rather than wait on internal growth alone.
Islanders captain to Utah fit
Lee was named New York’s captain at the start of the 2018-19 season, so this is not a depth move built on novelty. It is a bet that a former captain who once produced 40 goals can still settle into a meaningful role even after his scoring has declined from that peak.
For Utah, the term and cap hit are the story. A three-year deal keeps the risk contained while giving the Utah Mammoth a veteran wing option for a team trying to keep pace in the Eastern Conference. What exact lineup role Lee takes next will be decided by camp, but the contract has already changed both rosters.
