New York Islanders: Making Josh Bailey the Captain

The New York Islanders were just left with a massive hole where their captain should be. While many players could fill the role, forward Josh Bailey is the best fit for the job.

Okay, I’ll say it: John Tavares was not a good captain for the New York Islanders.

Please don’t count me in with all the fans who have turned bitter and are trying to convince everyone one that he “wasn’t even that good of a player anyway.” I still not so secretly carry a torch for 91. That aside, he was never a good captain for the Islanders.

A captain is supposed to have a strong voice and lead his team both on the ice and in the locker room. Tavares never once showed that kind of personality. There was never a doubt that he was the best player on the ice but was he really the best player in the room? The answer is decidedly no.

Josh Bailey For Captain

What the team needs, now more than ever, is a captain who can be the glue that holds them together. A respected, long-tenured and loyal Islander is what the team needs now and Josh Bailey fits the bill.

Since the departure of Frans Nielsen in the summer of 2016, Josh Bailey has been the longest-tenured Islander. He was drafted by the organization in 2008 and has arguably endured more than any other Islander in a long time.

Not only did he stay with the team during the hardest of seasons, he was one of Islander fans’ favorite individual targets. For years, Bailey has been ripped to shreds by this fanbase. He has seen the worst of this team and heard from the harshest critics.

Despite all this, he re-signed with the New York Islanders long-term with the hometown discount. After two career years in a row, Bailey could’ve ventured out and gotten a large contract from a team in need of offense but instead, he took an AAV of 5 million to stay with the team he had always been loyal to. This is more than we can say about certain previous captains.

Josh Bailey is clearly respected by his teammates and he exhibits a personality that would probably be well received in the dressing room. There don’t seem to be any downsides to naming Josh Bailey as the captain of the New York Islanders, despite what Twitter may have to say about it.

The captain of a team doesn’t have to be the best player on the ice. A good captain just has to be able to lead his teammates and I think Josh Bailey is perfect for the job.