With the New York Islanders being 13 games into their season, General Manager Garth Snow sang praises of Josh Bailey, among other topics.
New York Islanders’ General Manager Garth Snow went on SiriusXMNHL and reiterated some familiar talking points and spoke of the Islanders’ status with pending UFA and the team’s second-highest scorer, Josh Bailey.
Snow talks a couple of different topics, including of course the pending contract of Islander captain John Tavares, the situation at Belmont, and his feelings to last night’s 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.
One of the points of interest was bringing up the contract of winger Josh Bailey, who has really started to develop into the player the Islanders envisioned when they drafted him in the first round in 2008.
Snow said the following on Bailey:
“…He’s been a high character guy off the ice, very talented on the ice, and he doesn’t get the credit in years past that he deserved. We think the world of him as another player that we want to keep here long-term. We know what Josh brings to this team, very creative, more of a pass first mindset and the chemistry with John [Tavares].”
This point is one of the more interesting, since Snow went on to explain that the Islanders aren’t shy of signing players mid-season, as they have displayed in the past with extensions to Cal Clutterbuck and Thomas Greiss in 2016-17.
Josh Bailey finally took a huge step in his development in the 2016-17 season, posting a career-high in assists (43) and points (56). Bailey started the 2017-18 season right where he left off, posting 15 points
Either way, it’s a great listen and one that any Islander fan should hear.