NY Islanders 2022-23 player report card: Josh Bailey was a big disappointment
Oh boy. Where do we begin with the longest tenured NY Islanders player on the current roster?
Signed to a six-year, $30 million deal in the summer of 2018, Josh Bailey is heading into the final year of his contract come July 1st. At the time, it seemed justified coming off a 71-point season, which is a career-high and is likely to stay there as we saw the demise of his career coming in recent years, and the 2022-23 season likely put a stamp on his career.
*Read our previously published player report cards:
New York Islanders 2022-23 report card: Josh Bailey
Bailey played in 64 games for the Islanders this season, but he didn't miss time because of injury. Instead, Bailey was in and out of the lineup as he couldn't find consistency while in the lineup and became a liability on the ice. He registered eight goals and 17 assists on the season, his lowest point total since the 2012-13 season when he scored 19 points in 38 games.
Bailey's issues became clear. He was causing turnovers on the ice, making bad passes, and basically putting the Islanders short a man on the ice when both teams were at even strength. Down the stretch of the regular season, Bailey found himself as a healthy scratch more often than not in favor of forwards such as Simon Holmstrom and Hudson Fasching. To make matters worse, the longest-tenured Islander to date couldn't even draw into the lineup in the playoffs as he didn't play a single game.
When asked about his future with the Islanders, Bailey was unclear about his future:
“I don’t know,” Bailey told The NY Post. “It’s a position, certainly, I wouldn’t want to be in. This has been home for a long time, it will continue to be home after hockey, regardless of what happens. But yeah, obviously a little unknown right now.”
If this was it, Bailey will be known as one of the most polarizing players in Islanders' history. He had his good moments and he had his bad moments. He had his haters and he had his defenders. This season felt like it was the end and if it was, we'll upgrade his likely deserved 'F' to a 'D' as a thank-you for his service for the last 15 seasons.