Islanders coach Pete DeBoer hopes Anders Lee has 'career years' in Utah

Pete DeBoer spent the week at Islanders development camp familiarizing himself with the organization after being hired as coach with four games remaining last season. He observed and tried to meet some of the prospects and spent time with veterans such as Mathew Barzal and Kyle Palmieri, all while juggling moving into his new Long Island condo.

But DeBoer, asked to assess the roster entering September’s training camp after Thursday’s final development camp on-ice sessions at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow, couldn’t discuss the future without addressing the past.

“I don’t think we can talk about that without first saying how much Anders Lee will be missed and what he did and what he’s meant to this organization,” DeBoer said of the former captain, who signed a three-year, $16.2 million deal with the Utah Mammoth on Wednesday — two days before turning 36 — shortly after the free-agent market opened. “That’s unfortunately the business of the NHL. My wish is that Anders goes on and has career years in Utah.”

DeBoer has lived through this scenario before. He was the Devils’ coach in 2012 when captain Zach Parise left via free agency to join the Wild after the team reached the Stanley Cup Final. DeBoer was with the Sharks in 2019 when captain Joe Pavelski signed with the Stars.

With the past addressed, it’s fair to say DeBoer is looking forward to the future.

“It was a real exciting week, for a couple of reasons,” he said. “I got to see the whole organization. I got to spend a lot of time with my new coaching staff and did a lot of planning for the upcoming season and we got to spend a lot of time with our American League staff, which is new, too.”

Rocky Thompson was promoted from the Islanders’ AHL head coach to DeBoer’s staff and will run the power play. Jay McKee was hired as his replacement with the AHL affiliate now in Hamilton, Ontario.

Sharpshooter Cole Eiserman, who was the 20th overall pick in 2024 and is entering his first full professional season, was one of the prospects looking to catch DeBoer’s eye.

“I met him once or twice, a nice-to-meet-you type of thing,” Eiserman said. “A really big presence. He’s done a lot in the NHL. So pretty cool to meet him.”

General manager Mathieu Darche imported depth by signing free-agent forwards Matius Maccelli and Mitchell Chaffee, defenseman Matt Kessel and goalie Vitek Vanecek, all on one-year deals. Last season’s backup goalie, David Rittich, remains unsigned but will not return. Forward Max Shabanov also became a former Islander on Thursday, signing a one-year, $1.6 million deal with the Wild.

The Islanders have $3.4 million in space remaining under the $104 million salary-cap ceiling.

“As far as the rest of free agency, we had some great discussions about building this team,” DeBoer said. “You’re always constrained by your cap and your money situation. It’s always more complicated than it looks on a piece of paper.

“I’m sure, as a fan looking at the face of it, they’re not always easy to understand. But trust me, behind the face value of what’s going on, there’s a ton of thought, a ton of projection. And none of those decisions are made easily.”

In-house video released by the Islanders’ social media group showed DeBoer sitting with Darche and being involved in the interaction as Maccelli was welcomed to the team.

DeBoer addressed a variety of topics during a 15-minute session with the media on Thursday. Among them:

 * He called defenseman Isaiah George, 22, an NHL player and praised his willing attitude in coming to development camp despite his 37 NHL games. But DeBoer said he’s reluctant to have the lefthanded George play on the right at this stage in his development. Interestingly, DeBoer did raise the possibility of lefthanded Matthew Schaefer, who won the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year and turns 19 on Sept. 5, as an option to play on his off-side. That could open playing time for George while possibly blocking Scott Mayfield.

    *  DeBoer has not begun to consider candidates to succeed Lee as captain.

 * His intention is to use Barzal as a center.

 * DeBoer believes the shortening of the preseason from six to four games might limit in-game chances for veteran depth candidates because teams will want to test their younger prospects.

 * Defenseman Malte Gustafsson, the No. 13 overall pick, impressed DeBoer with his skating and ability to close gaps on opponents while defending.

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.