New York Islanders: Josh Bailey Point Leader Through 18 Games

The New York Islanders have a new points leader after last night and it’s not John Tavares or Mathew Barzal. Fan favorite, Josh Bailey is leading the way with points.

With last night’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes, the New York Islanders have a new points leader. Luckily, it’s a familiar face and one that draws a lot of criticism for unbeknownst reasons to sensible people.

Josh Bailey, through 18 games (20 percent of the season) is leading the Islanders in points with 20 on the season. Last night Bailey had a goal and an assist, his seventh multi-point game of the season.

Here’s a look at his goal that tied up the game:

Doug Weight, who recently called Bailey his best forward on some nights, must be happy with the production he’s received from Josh Bailey over the past two years.

It’s crazy to think how much Bailey has grown in his career. Bailey was rushed to the NHL and struggled mightily at a young age. His development was clearly stunted but he’s been able to make himself a legit top-six winger in this league with some patience.

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After all these years of calling for a winger for John Tavares who would’ve thought that it wouldn’t be Andrew Ladd or Jordan Eberle but instead Josh Bailey and Anders Lee that would team up with J.T. to create one of the best top lines in the league.

Coming off a 56 point season in 2016-2017 fans, and those covering the team as well were wondering which Bailey would show up. Would he regress back to 32 point form or is 56 points the new and improved Josh Bailey?

He’s proven everyone wrong, including myself, who believed he would regress even the slightest bit. Through 20 percent of the season, he’s leading the team in points and his 20th in the league in points.

He’s got more points than Alex Ovechkin, John Tavares, Jamie Benn, Auston Matthews, Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin and a bunch of other stars in the league. If you’re still wondering if Josh Bailey is good or not please stop, put aside any personal agenda or unprovoked hate spewing from the space where your brain is supposed to be, leave any outdated talking points in the parking lot and look at a basic stat sheet or watch a game more closely.

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Josh Bailey, is in fact good. It’s not a matter of will Garth Snow offer him an extension, it’s now when will Garth offer Bailey an extension. The Islanders have a very explosive top-six unit, enjoy it.