Josh Bailey

Joshua Bailey (born October 2, 1989) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is an unrestricted free agent. He most recently played for the New York Islanders, who selected him ninth overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Josh Bailey
Bailey with the New York Islanders in 2018
Born (1989-10-02) October 2, 1989 (age 34)
Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
PositionRight wing
ShootsLeft
NHL team
Former teams
Free agent
New York Islanders
National team Canada
NHL draft9th overall, 2008
New York Islanders
Playing career2008–present

Playing career

Amateur and junior

Bailey grew up in Clarington, Ontario, playing AAA for the Clarington Toros of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association's (OMHA) Eastern AAA League. He was drafted in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) priority selection by the Owen Sound Attack in May 2005. He played parts of two seasons with the Attack, scoring eighteen goals and adding thirty four assists. He was traded by the Attack to the Windsor Spitfires during the 2006–07 season. He played two seasons with the Spitfires.[1] In the 2007–08 season, Bailey registered 29 goals and 96 points in 67 games.[2]

Professional

Bailey during his first season in the NHL, December 2008

Bailey was selected ninth overall by the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The Islanders traded down twice in the draft (from fifth to seventh, and seventh to ninth) to acquire Bailey.[3] On October 2, 2008, his 19th birthday, the Islanders signed Bailey to a three-year, $900,000 contract.[4] Bailey made his NHL debut in the 2008–09 season.[5] Bailey made the team out of training camp.[6] He scored his first goal in the league on January 2, 2009, against Ilya Bryzgalov of the Phoenix Coyotes.[7] Bailey finished the season with 25 points in 68 games.[6] The following season Bailey started slowly but finished strong, registering 35 points in 73 games.[6] However, at the end of the season Bailey suffered facial fractures after being boarded by Alexei Ponikarovsky of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bailey would miss the final two games of the season and Ponikarovsky was suspended for two games.[8]

After a better start to the 2010–11 season,[6] he was injured with a hip pointer, missing two games.[9] Upon returning, he had no points in a 13-game stretch, prompting the Islanders to send Bailey to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, in late November. Bailey had played 159 games in the NHL to that point,[10] one game before Bailey would have had to clear waivers to be sent down to the AHL, which starts at 160 NHL games. Bailey played 11 games in the AHL and scored six goals and 11 assists before being brought back up to play with the Islanders again in December.[6] At this point in his career, Bailey was cited as an example of part of the nadir of the Islanders franchise.[11] Bailey finished the season with the Islanders, registering 22 points in 52 games.[6] On September 15, 2011, he signed a two-year contract with the Islanders.[12]

With the 2012–13 NHL lockout in effect, Bailey was signed to a temporary lockout contract with German second division club SC Bietigheim Steelers on November 9, 2012.[13] Bailey accumulated 11 points in six games with the Steelers before returning to North America. The Islanders announced on January 15, 2013, that they had suspended Bailey due to sustaining an injury while playing for the Steelers, and that he would not collect any pay from the team during the suspension.[14] After the lockout ended, Bailey returned to the Islanders scoring 11 goals and 19 points in 38 games.[15]

Bailey signed a five-year, $16.5 million contract with the Islanders on July 15, 2013.[15][16] He finished the 2016–17 season with new career highs in goals (13) and points (56).[17] During the 2017–18 season, Bailey scored his first career hat trick in a 6–4 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on December 14, 2017.[18][19] Posting 18 goals and 53 assists for a career high 71 points, he was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game on January 10, 2018.[20] On February 23, 2018, Bailey agreed to a six-year contract extension with the Islanders.[21]

Bailey with the Islanders in December 2017

Bailey was named an alternate captain ahead of the 2018–19 season.[22] On April 10, 2019, Bailey scored his first playoff NHL overtime winner against the Pittsburgh Penguins.[23] He scored his second overtime winner on May 24, 2021, again against the Penguins, on a turnover from Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry.[24]

On October 28, 2022, Bailey played his 1,000th NHL game against the Carolina Hurricanes and became only the third player from the Islanders to play all 1,000 games with the team.[25] At this point, the view of Bailey as a player had improved among fans, though still "polarizing" to many.[2] Bailey finished the 2022–23 season with eight goals and 25 points, his lowest total since his rookie season.[26]

In the off-season, on June 29, 2023, Bailey was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks along with a 2026 second-round draft pick for future considerations as the Islanders intended to dump his contract on a team with more space under the salary cap.[26] The Blackhawks immediately placed him on unconditional waivers with the intent of buying out his contract.[27] Approximately two months later, on September 14, Bailey was signed to a professional tryout (PTO) agreement with the Ottawa Senators.[28] He was released by the Senators from his PTO on October 8.[29]

International play

On April 16, 2018, Bailey replaced Vince Dunn on Canada's senior team at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.[30]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
2004–05Clarington Toros AAAETA U1669535911238
2004–05Bowmanville EaglesOPJHL20110
2005–06Owen Sound AttackOHL55719268110000
2006–07Owen Sound AttackOHL271115268
2006–07Windsor SpitfiresOHL4211243516
2007–08Windsor SpitfiresOHL672967963251562
2008–09New York IslandersNHL687182516
2009–10New York IslandersNHL7316193518
2010–11New York IslandersNHL7011172837
2010–11Bridgeport Sound TigersAHL11611174
2011–12New York IslandersNHL8013193232
2012–13SC Bietigheim-Bissingen2.GBun6381116
2012–13New York IslandersNHL3811819660330
2013–14New York IslandersNHL778303826
2014–15New York IslandersNHL701526411272350
2015–16New York IslandersNHL811220322292132
2016–17New York IslandersNHL8213435612
2017–18New York IslandersNHL7618537117
2018–19New York IslandersNHL821640562184260
2019–20New York IslandersNHL681429431022218200
2020–21New York IslandersNHL548273541967134
2021–22New York IslandersNHL741430446
2022–23New York IslandersNHL64817252
NHL totals1,057184396580241711634506

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2006Canada OntarioU175th50110
2018CanadaWC4th91342
Junior totals50110
Senior totals91342

References

Awards and achievements
Preceded by New York Islanders first round pick
2008
Succeeded by