New York Islanders: Josh Ho-Sang Bet On Himself With One-Year Deal

After signing his one-year two-way qualifying offer with the New York Islanders, it’s obvious that Josh Ho-Sang is betting on himself.

Yesterday, we received the news that Josh Ho-Sang will be back with the New York Islanders after signing his qualifying offer. Ho-Sang signed his one-year two-way deal that will pay him $874,000 in the NHL or $70,000 in the AHL.

One would assume that Lou Lamoriello also offered Ho-Sang the “standard bridge deal”. Both Devon Toews and Michael Dal Colle were offered and took two-year $700,000 AAV deals while Ho-Sang potentially turned it down.

There’s a chance he can make 174,000 more for this year but there’s also a chance that he will make $70,000 if he goes to the AHL. Talk about motivation, he can lose out on $800,000 if he plays in the AHL this year.

Give me all the stock in the world on Josh Ho-Sang right now.

As of today, the New York Islanders have a gaping hole in the second line. It’s completely up for grabs and you would have to imagine that Josh Ho-Sang would be in the mix for it if he has a good camp.

That’s the caveat. JHS has to prove that he can play a well-rounded game. We know what he can do offensively, it’s just can he cut down on turnovers while also being responsible in the defensive zone.

We talked about it at length on the Patreon podcast which you can check out right here if you’re interested.

At times, Ho-Sang has been very solid offensively in the NHL. His first stint, everyone seemed to love the kid. He had 10 points in 21 games and he nearly carried the team which featured Thomas Hickey playing on the wing into a playoff spot.

The next year he had nearly the same production (12 points in 22 games) but was isolated as the reason for the Isles defensive issues. Ironically, the Isles defense somehow got worse after Ho-Sang was sent back to the AHL.

Last year in just a 10 game sample size he had two points. But his analytics were off the charts…literally

Yes, it’s a limited sample size of just 10 games, but Ho-Sang was very good with possession numbers something the team as a unit was not so good at. Even his WOWY (with-or-without-you) numbers were fantastic.

Ho-Sang made everyone around him better:

Ho-Sang has everything to prove this training camp. He literally has $800,000 relying on it. Money talks and he is going to do everything possible in order to make this team and be the best hockey player he can be.

In an interview with Arthur Staple, Brent Thompson (Ho-Sang’s AHL coach) said that Ho-Sang was much better defensively and they put him out in key situations for them including the playoffs. That’s a vote of confidence from someone that Lou Lamoriello and Barry Trotz trust.

Heading into camp as an improved defensive player and with limited NHL experience, it seems to me like he’s the frontrunner for the second-line spot over guys like Michael Dal Colle, Anthony Beauvillier, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Kieffer Bellows. If he plays with Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson and finally gets a full chance in the NHL watch out.

Ho-Sang is fun, dynamic, and can be that offensive player the Islanders were missing *if he goes into camp motivated and is the best version of himself*. With everything on the line, I think he does it.