New York Islanders RFA Josh Ho-Sang Signs One-Year Deal

The New York Islanders reached an agreement with RFA Josh Ho-Sang. He inked a one-year prove-it deal with the club.

After over a month of it being all quiet on the western Long Island front, Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders showed some life today by signing both Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle who were RFA’s.

Mitch will have you covered on the MDC news shortly, and I will be focusing on Josh Ho-Sang and the contract he signed.

As of writing this, the AAV of the deal hasn’t been announced. All we know is that it’s a one-year deal which is perfect for the 23-year-old Ho-Sang.

It’s been a bumpy ride for JHS with the New York Islanders. He got off on the wrong foot in his first training camp due to oversleeping and he was instantly shipped back to the OHL, after running the Coliseum steps of course.

Ho-Sang then made waves once he was called up for wearing number 66 because apparently only Mario Lemieux is ever allowed to wear that number even though it has no significance with the Islanders franchise.

His first stint with the Islanders was very solid. He had 10 points in 21 games and nearly carried an Isles team that featured Thomas Hickey on the wing into a playoff spot. Heading into 2017-2018 the expectation was that he would be a regular part of the offense. We were wrong.

He was a healthy scratch on opening night and after 12 points in 22 games, the Isles blamed the entirety of their defensive problems on Ho-Sang and sent him back to Bridgeport. While back in Bridgeport, Ho-Sang didn’t have the best attitude or production and finished with 31 points in 50 games.

This past year, for the third year in a row, Ho-Sang bounced between the AHL and the NHL. Despite only having two points in 10 games, Ho-Sang’s metrics were great. Just take a look at his WOWY numbers:

At this point, it is put up or shut up time. If Ho-Sang doesn’t get a chance on his one-year deal than he never will. As it stands right now, the Islanders still have a hole on the second line. Maybe he finally gets an extended look in the top-six?

His head coach in the AHL just sang his praises about improving defensively. The Islanders are lacking talent upfront so instead of running back a Tom Kuhnhackl or Anthony Beauvillier experiment they should look for the right-hander that provided them a spark just a couple of years ago.

Ho-Sang will have every opportunity in camp to make this team and have an impact. It’s up to him to make the most of it.

Update: Ho-Sang signed his qualifying offer. ($874K/$70K two-way deal)