Another scratch for Josh Bailey, so what is his Islanders' future?
Islanders right wing Josh Bailey. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Josh Bailey’s latest healthy scratch may come with a long-term implication for the longest-tenured Islander.
Bailey was not in the lineup for the eighth time in 10 games as the Islanders beat the Lightning 6-1 on Thursday night at UBS Arena. There are three regular-season games remaining so Bailey, who has played 1,056 career games, will not be able to tie Hall of Famer Denis Potvin this season for the second-most games played for the franchise at 1,060.
Meaning, he might never move past Potvin and trail just Hall of Famer Bryan Trottier (1,123 games) on the Islanders’ all-time list.
Because, given his reduced role, there’s an open question whether Bailey returns next season for the final season of his six-year, $$30 million deal.
Per CapFriendly.com, buying out Bailey would save the Islanders $2.3 million against the expected $83.5 million salary cap ceiling next season. It would cost them $1.2 million in 2024-25.
Still discovering LI
Lightning coach John Cooper graduated from Hofstra, where he played lacrosse. He’s been back to Long Island many times in his 10-plus seasons with the Lightning. But this visit brought something new.
“I’ve never stayed at The Garden City Hotel,” Cooper said. “I went to college right down the street. It was a new experience. Garden City is a beautiful place. As a college kid, I couldn’t afford it. Garden City is too nice.”
Isles files
The Islanders snapped a six-game regular-season losing streak to the Lightning, beating them for the first time since Dec. 9, 2019 . . . Lightning captain Steven Stamkos, 33, played in his 1,000th career game. The Islanders, oddly, made no scoreboard mention of the milestone . . . Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov (upper body) missed his second game . . . Brock Nelson’s 238th career goal tied him with Bob Bourne for the eighth most in franchise history.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
