Islanders Lamoriello on veteran player: 'Maybe it's Near the End Here'

PUBLICATION

TJ Tucker
June 6, 2023 (5:02 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

It's never easy for a team to part ways with a veteran player who's spent his entire career with your organization. However, Lou Lamoriello, President of Hockey Operations and GM of the New York Islanders, is openly admitting it may be time to do just that.

The Player

The player in question is 33-year-old Josh Bailey. Lamoriello said in an interview today that he can't let loyalty get in the way of what needs to be done, and shipping Bailey out is a real possibility.

"Loyalty will never get in the way of impeding progress or making whatever decisions I have a responsibility to make. Never. In Josh's case, it looks like, maybe it's near the end here. In our situation, Josh and I have, I think a man-to-man relationship as far as honesty, and we will work with him -- whatever -- to help him, but my priority is doing what's best for the team."

It seems pretty clear that Lamoriello wants him and his $5 million cap hit gone as soon as possible. That's not really surprising given his regression in recent seasons, but it's interesting to hear a GM say it so openly.

Regression

After scoring 71 points (18G, 53A) in 2017-18, Bailey has fallen steadily when it comes to getting on the scoresheet. In 64 games last season, he had 6 goals and 25 points in 64 games. The biggest advantage in moving him is that he has just one year left on his current deal. The salary for 2023-24 is actually $3.5 million, lower than the cap hit, which can be attractive to another team looking to take on a cap dump.

Bailey was drafted 9th overall by the Islanders in 2008, and has played all of his 1057 regular season games with the team, as well as another 71 in the post season.