Chris Lee: Blooming after 30
KHL.ru continues its series of articles about players and coaches who have become legends of the league. The latest installment tells the story of two-time Gagarin Cup winner Chris Lee, whose move to Europe and play in the KHL rescued him from obscurity.
A key decision
Chris Lee’s career essentially began at the age of 30. Of course, he had been playing hockey long before that, but for 14 seasons, he competed only in the minors in North America. During that time, the defenseman didn’t win anything. However, over the next eight seasons in Europe, he became an Olympic bronze medalist, a World Championship silver medalist, a two-time Gagarin Cup winner, and a runner-up in both Russia and Germany. If only you had moved to Europe earlier, Chris!
Looking at Lee during his time with Metallurg, it’s hard to understand why he never got a chance in the NHL. By many important game metrics, he was an exemplary defenseman. His exceptional skating skills (Chris spent two years in figure skating), excellent vision on the ice, accurate passing, solid shot, and strong play on the blue line during power plays all stood out. But until he was 26, Lee hadn’t even played in the NHL’s farm teams, competing instead in minor leagues. He ended up in professional hockey somewhat by chance—he was playing in the third division of the U.S. college league and was considering quitting when he received, as he said, a surprising offer from the ECHL team, the Florida Everblades.
Shortly before his 29th birthday, Lee finally signed a contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. But he was cut from the roster just before what could have been his first game with the team.
“I spent a few days with the team and even participated in the pregame skate before a match against Ottawa. But five minutes before the game started, I was sent to the reserves. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. I got a taste of the NHL but never played a single game.”
After spending a season in Pittsburgh’s farm team, the defenseman realized that he needed to make a change, or else he would end up wandering through the backwaters of Canadian and American hockey for the rest of his career, never experiencing what real big-time hockey was like.
In 2010, Lee signed a contract with Germany’s Kolner Haie. Before the next season, he moved to Mannheim, where with 45 (13+32) points, he became the team’s second-leading scorer and the league’s top-scoring defenseman. Lee’s goal-scoring and playmaking abilities were understandable given that he had originally started his career as a forward, only switching to defense at the age of 25. “It turned out to be a huge plus,” the player said about changing his position.
Chris Lee
335 games, 245 (54+191) points.
Most points from the blueline in a single regular season (65 points in 2016-2017).
Most points from the blueline in a single playoff (21 points in 2016-2017).
Gagarin Cup champion (2014, 2016).
Russian champion (2014, 2016).
World Championship silver medal (2017).
Olympic Games bronze medal (2018).
KHL All-Star Game (2014, 2015, 2017, 2018).
KHL Top-scoring defenseman (2017).
KHL Best Defenseman (2017).
KHL Golden Helmet (2016).
Sept. 6, 2013 KHL debut against Dynamo Moscow.
Jan. 11, 2014 First appearance at the KHL All-Star Game.
April 30, 2014 Gagarin Cup win with Metallurg against HC Lev Prague.
In the 2011-2012 season, Lee was a runner-up in Germany and was named the league’s best defenseman. With such results, it was logical for him to move up — he was invited to play in the Swedish league, where he continued to impress. He became the top scorer for Farjestad in both the regular season and playoffs, the highest-scoring defenseman in the entire league in both stages, and was invited to join Team Canada for the first time to participate in the Deutschland Cup. After that, Lee took another step forward — he received several offers from clubs in Europe’s top leagues and ultimately moved to the KHL.
Two Gagarin Cups
Lee’s contract with Farjestad was valid until 2014, but the defenseman informed the Swedish club’s management that he would move to the KHL to move on with his career. As a result, his transfer card ended up in Magnitogorsk. According to Lee, he chose Metallurg because he received the best recommendations from the team’s former head coach, Paul Maurice.
In the spring of 2013, Magnitka was eliminated after the first round of the playoffs. Major changes were in store for the team, with new faces filling many key positions. Mike Keenan was appointed as the head coach, Vasily Koshechkin was brought in as the starting goalie, and Jan Kovar and Danis Zaripov joined Sergei Mozyakin on the top line. Finally, Lee was added as the defenseman for the first power-play unit. These decisions would lead to Metallurg becoming one of the top teams in the KHL for several years.
Throughout the 2013-2014 season, Magnitogorsk’s power play worked like clockwork, converting 21.2% of the time in the regular season and 19.5% in the playoffs. Mozyakin, Kovar, Zaripov, and Lee consistently scored points and became the team’s top scorers, leading Metallurg to a second-place finish in the regular season and a Gagarin Cup victory. During the season, Lee had a 10-game point streak (5+7) and participated in the All-Star Game.
In the following season, Lee once again ranked among the top four scorers for Metallurg and became the KHL’s top defenseman in assists. However, the team took a step back after their championship run and was eliminated in the quarterfinals. But in 2016, they reclaimed the KHL’s top trophy.
In the 2016 Gagarin Cup final, Metallurg played a seven-game series, just like in 2014. Lee was one of the key players in the decisive game against CSKA. Midway through the first period, the defenseman made a pass from his zone that sent Evgeny Timkin on a breakaway, leading to the game’s opening goal. Later, near the end of the middle frame, the Canadian scored from mid-range, which turned out to be the game-winning tally. Along with Sami Lepisto and Nikita Zaitsev, Lee became the top-scoring defenseman in the playoffs, finishing with 13 points.
April 19, 2016 Became a two-time Gagarin Cup champion, netting the GWG in game seven of the finals.
May 24, 2016 Elected in the KHL First All-Star Team.
May 24, 2017 Receives the award for the Top-scoring defenseman.
Feb. 24, 2018 Olympic Games bronze medalist.
Sept. 2, 2018 Inducted into the Metallurg’s Hockey Hall of Fame.
Olympic and World Championship Medals
A year later, Lee was close to becoming a three-time Gagarin Cup champion. The Canadian blueliner had a phenomenal regular season, breaking the record for most points in a season by a defenseman in Russian league history, previously held by fellow Canadian Kevin Dallman with 58 points. Lee scored 65 (14+51) points, which was the second-highest total on Metallurg and the sixth-best in the entire KHL. He continued his outstanding performance in the playoffs, tallying 21 points (1 goal and 20 assists), ranking fourth on Metallurg and fifth in the KHL. On March 2, during the fifth game of the first-round series against Kunlun Red Star (8:2), Lee recorded five assists.
On their way to the final, Metallurg lost just one game — to Kunlun. However, in the decisive series, they managed only one win against SKA. It’s worth noting that, excluding an empty-net goal in the fifth game, all of Magnitka’s losses were by just one goal.
By then, Lee was 36 years old, but after such an impressive season, he was in high demand. He was invited to play for Team Canada at the World Championship for the first time in his career. The Metallurg defenseman played in seven games, assisted on two goals, and returned home with a silver medal.
Lee soon received an invitation to the Los Angeles Kings’ training camp, signing a tryout contract. However, he didn’t make the final roster.
“There was interest from other teams, but I chose the Kings. The camp went well, but for some reason, things didn’t go as I had hoped. Some clubs were interested in me, but there were no one-way offers, so I decided not to pursue it.”
Another reason for Lee’s return to Russia was his desire to play in the Olympics. In fact, his first official games of the new season were with Team Canada, competing in the Karjala Cup. In December, he played in the Channel One Cup, and in February, he competed in the Olympics. In PyeongChang, despite Lee’s two assists, Canada was unexpectedly defeated by Germany in the semifinals but went on to win the bronze medal game against the Czech Republic. Thus, Lee played in two major tournaments for Canada and won two medals.
In November 2017, Lee mentioned that he wasn’t thinking about retirement.
“Yes, I just want to keep playing. I’m still good at this level. As long as I can be effective, I’ll keep playing.”
That made his decision to retire in the summer of 2018 all the more surprising.
In early September, Lee returned to Magnitogorsk, but not to play for Metallurg. Instead, he was there for a ceremony in his honor. Before the season opener against Slovan, a star bearing his name was unveiled on the special Alley of Stars, and his jersey was raised to the rafters of the arena.
KHL.ru dossier
Chris Lee
Born on October 3, 1980, in MacTier, Ontario, Canada.
Playing career: 2000-2004 – Potsdam (NCAA III), 2004-2007 – Florida Everblades (ECHL), 2007-2008 – Iowa (AHL), 2008-2009 – Bridgeport (AHL), 2009-2010 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL), 2010-2011 – Kolner Haie (Germany), 2011-2012 – Adler Mannheim (Germany), 2012-2013 – Farjestad (Sweden), 2013-2018 – Metallurg (Magnitogorsk).
Player achievements: World Championship silver medalist (2017), Olympic bronze medalist (2018), Gagarin Cup winner and Russian champion (2014, 2016), Russian Championship silver medalist (2017) and German Championship silver medalist (2012).
