New York Islanders: Comparing Bailey’s Contract To Recent Extensions

Josh Bailey and the New York Islanders came to terms on a six-year, $30 million contract extension. Let’s take a look at recent extensions from around the NHL and compare.

The New York Islanders were able to come to an agreement on an extremely team-friendly contract extension with 28-year-old forward Josh Bailey. The deal is being celebrated by most on social media as being a smart move by Isles’ GM Garth Snow (wait, what?).

After finally coming into his own over the last couple of seasons, this was a much-deserved and, likely, a greatly appreciated reward for all of Josh Bailey’s hard work. The franchise has been waiting for him to develop into the player that he’s now become for a very long time.

Over the first seven years of his career, Bailey only reached the forty-point plateau once, in 2014-15 (41 points). Up until that season, his average points-per-season was 29.5. He foreshadowed his current success a few times over his first few seasons, giving the Islanders’ faithful hope that one day he would come around.

Bailey breaks out for the New York Islanders

Playing alongside his good friend, John Tavares, Josh Bailey has transformed into an assists machine. Last season he showed signs of finally reaching his potential by having himself a career year with 13 goals and 43 assists.

This season, while earning his first NHL All-Star selection, Bailey has already bested those numbers. In just 58 games (he played in all 82 last year), he has 15 goals and 47 assists. His current total of 62 points is his career-high and he’s still got a quarter of the season left to play.

When Josh Bailey signed a five-year, $16.5 million deal in 2013, the New York Islanders obviously saw potential in the young man. Now that he’s blossomed into an All-Star, putting up league-leading (at times) numbers, the Isles have now invested in Josh Bailey’s future once again.

How does Bailey’s contract with the New York Islanders compare to others?

The hometown-discount that the New York Islanders received for Bailey’s services made me think of how his deal compares to others that have recently been signed from around the league. Obviously, Josh Bailey is not an elite player, but he certainly does serve a purpose to this team.

Just in the past calendar year, there have been a number of contract extensions signed around the NHL. While this is not in any way on the same level as the deal signed by Connor McDavid with Edmonton (eight-year, $100 million), this is still a notable signing nonetheless.

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Take into consideration the deal that Bryan Little signed with the Winnipeg Jets in September. His deal was for six years and $31.746 million. Little, 30, is a 0.64 point-per-game player. Bailey, for his career, has 0.52 PPG.

These two deals are similarly team-friendly and right around market-value for these types of players. Now, let’s look at the extension Mikael Backlund just signed with the Calgary Flames. His deal is for six years and $32.1 million, an AAV of $5.35 million per year.

Backlund’s career PPG is lower than both Little’s and Bailey’s, at 0.45. Considering that Calgary is a much smaller market than New York (obviously) and they’re paying Backlund $5.35 million per season, this makes Bailey’s deal look like a steal.

Next: Isles Should Talk Trade With Rangers

The Isles are spending an average of $5 million per year on Bailey. He’s clearly a much better player than Backlund (and Little too, for that matter). That makes this deal a home run for the New York Islanders, Josh Bailey, John Tavares, the fanbase, the future of the Islanders’ salary budget; the list goes on.

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