Islanders’ Anders Lee out 1-2 weeks with upper-body injury

An unwanted injury for one of the New York Islanders’ top players.

On Wednesday, the team announced that captain Anders Lee is out for the next 1-2 weeks with an upper-body injury.

The Islanders didn’t specify what Lee hurt or when he suffered the ailment. The veteran winger played over 16 minutes of the team’s first preseason game on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Lee didn’t score a point or a shot on goal, but registered six hits as the Isles fell to their Metropolitan Division rivals, 3-2, in a shootout.

If the timeline serves true, there’s a chance that Lee might not play for the rest of the preseason, but should return in time for the Islanders’ season opener on Oct. 9 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Despite the team’s struggles last season, Lee is coming off one of his best individual performances in some time. In 82 games during the 2024-25 campaign, the Edina, Minn. native scored 29 goals and 25 assists for 54 points, his highest point total since notching a career-high 62 points during the 2017-18 season. It was also the fourth time in Lee’s career that he reached the 50-point mark.

Across 13 seasons with the Isles, the 35-year-old has appeared in 841 regular-season games, scoring 289 goals and 218 assists for 507 points. He’s also scored 21 points in 46 Stanley Cup Playoff contests. Lee is heading into the final season of his seven-year contract, which carries a cap hit of $7 million.

The Islanders also announced that forward Maxim Tsyplakov is considered day-to-day for maintenance, though he did skate on Wednesday morning. He has yet to play in a preseason game. Tsyplakov signed a two-year contract back in July, as the Moscow, Russia native avoided arbitration by agreeing to a deal that carries an AAV of $2.25 million through the 2026-27 campaign.