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Does Josh Bailey Need A New Home?

August 12, 2014, 10:01 AM ET [113 Comments]
Colin Dambrauskas
Calgary Flames Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Just as many teams who are looking to improve each passing year can struggle with, the New York Islanders may have an extra “asset” in the upcoming season that no longer fits into their respective roster.

24 year old Josh Bailey, selected 9th overall in the 2008 NHL draft, might find himself on the outside looking in with the Islanders this year given their new and upcoming talent. Bailey has been heavily critiqued over the past season or two given his offensive output, and as a result, much trade discussion has come about.

The young forward has amassed but 8 goals last season in 77 regular season games and is now challenged with being moved down the line up as guys like Mikael Grabner, rookie Anders Lee, Broke Nelson, and Ryan Strome are outperforming him.

To make matters worse, the Islanders recently signed forwards Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski who will both likely challenge for top 6 roles themselves. Where does this leave Bailey? Well, his options are pretty obvious – improve upon his last season and earn a role, or continue to be pushed down or out of the lineup completely.

It is likely that if Bailey remains a part of the New York organization that he plays a majority of the year on the third line. However, given that this player has a ton of raw talent and has shown several flashes of brilliance over his short career, I do not believe he belongs on the third line.

Of course any player must earn their roster spot, though I feel that a change of scenery, coaching, or system may get Bailey back on track, developmentally. It just seems to me that he’s stuck at this stage and needs a little extra help to take his game to the next level.

Now I know what most of you are likely thinking; Josh Bailey is a centreman. Yes, Josh is listed at centre, however he can and does also play the right wing – a position in which the Flames could stand to use an upgrade or two. In fact, in looking over Bailey’s numbers, he hasn’t had a ton of success at the faceoff dot anyways. It would therefore stand to reason that the Flames try and pick up this young player on the cheap as the Islanders no longer need the added support down the middle with the addition of Grabovski.

With a 3.3M cap hit until the 2017-18 season, this could be another lower cost, medium-high reward type move for the Calgary organization who continues to add youth and skill to their lineup while remaining competitive.

A player like Bailey, with his recent stumbles, likely wouldn’t cost the Flames much in terms of assets. The Islanders are believed to be looking for defensive help, and the Flames happen to have a player above 30 who could help in that regard.

What do you think? Should the Flames try and pursue a player like this, or does the player not interest you enough?



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