In 15 seasons with the Islanders, Josh Bailey has put up some numbers that put him in rarified air in franchise history.
He is third on the team's all-time list with 1,057 games, just three behind Denis Potvin.
Bailey has the fourth most assists in Islanders history with 396 and is 7th with 580 points.
In 71 career playoff games, Bailey has 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points and he was part of seven playoff series wins and a pair of trips to the NHL's final four.
With a resume like that, Bailey should, one day, be in the Islanders Hall of Fame. But at the moment, even with one year left on his contract, Bailey is not certainly he will ever play another game for the only franchise he has known in the National Hockey League.
"I don't know," said Bailey during exit interviews on Monday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. "It's a position that I wouldn't want to be in. This has been home for a long time. It will continue to be home after hockey regardless of what happens."
For the longest-tenured Islander, this past season certainly featured a spectrum of emotions. Bailey reached an NHL milestone by playing in his 1,000th NHL game, all with the Islanders, but he played in only 64 games during the regular season and was a healthy scratch for all 6 playoff games on Carolina.
"I certainly didn't play my best at times," said Bailey. "I can own that. At times, I just didn't have the level I wanted to be at and sometimes it takes the right bounce here and there to get the confidence going."
It was, at best, an up and down season for Bailey who had to be fuming at not being able to suit up for playoff games, the time of the season where Bailey has risen to the occasion including an overtime goal against the Penguins to win game one in 2019 and a double overtime goal in Pittsburgh to give the Islanders a game five win in 2021.
Bailey can see the writing on the wall, but he still wants to play the final year of his contract, even if it's not with the Islanders who could buy out that last year or try to trade him. Whether he stays or goes elsewhere, Bailey wants to play.
"I've got another year left on the deal and I plan on playing it out so we'll see what happens," said Bailey. "As far as where my role is, if I'm going to be sitting in the stands a lot, that's not something I want to do."
If Bailey does not return to the Islanders, it will be a tough pill to swallow for many of his teammates who love him not only for what he's done on the ice but also for the person he is off the ice.
Let's just say, Bailey is very well respected in that locker room.
"He's a true professional," said Islanders Captain Anders Lee. "He brings everything he has to the table every day and he handles all of these things and this adversity with class. It speaks a lot to his character and what he brings to the room."
"He's played 1,000 games with one team so that's pretty special," said defenseman Adam Pelech. "It would be tough to lose such a good teammate and friend like that."
"Bails is one of my best friends," said forward Mat Barzal. "I've looked up to him since I came in here. He's a great mentor for a guy like me and younger guys. He's been awesome to me ever since day one."
"A key part of this organization for a long time, not only on the ice but in the community," said forward Matt Martin. "He takes a lot of pride in being an Islander. I think he's a model professional. He's a close friend and I'd like to have him back."
While Bailey is loved by his teammates, it's obvious that he has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff. Being a healthy scratch is probably not something that happens if Barry Trotz was still around, but first-year Head Coach Lane Lambert leaned on some younger players throughout the season.
Once the season started, it didn't take long for Bailey to realize that Lambert's leash on him would be a lot shorter than Trotz.
"I think looking back on it now, it's rather telling getting scratched four or five games into the year before my 1,000th game to where we ended up at the end of the season," said Bailey. "I think it makes a lot more sense now, but it's all part of the past."
And with that, Bailey seems to be resigned to the fact that he won't be putting on an Islanders jersey again until he returns to UBS Arena one day as a member of the Islanders' alumni.
But he's not ready to hang up the skates just yet.
The hardest part of this current situation for Bailey is that he still believes he can be a productive player whether it's with the Islanders or another team that gives him a chance.
"Yeah, I still think I can play at a high level no question," said Bailey. "We'll see where it all goes."
Regardless of how the offseason plays out and even if he winds up wearing another team's jersey next season, Bailey will always be an Islander.
And for the Bowmanville, Ontario native, Long Island will always and forever be home.
"I came here as a teenager," said Bailey, the Islanders first-round pick in 2008. "I got married and all are kids are born here. All of our roots are here. This is where we plan on living when hockey is all said and done. Fifteen years has been a pretty good and I'm very proud of it."
Josh Bailey has been a terrific New York Islander and it would certainly be weird to see him in another team's jersey next season. There would be, of course, a video tribute when he returns to UBS Arena and there would certainly be a "Heyyyy Josh Bailey" serenade from the Blue and Orange Army, but at least for the moment he's still an Islander.
You could debate where he stands as an all-time great Islander, but the reality is, based on his entire body of work, that his name should one day be in the rafters of UBS Arena as member of the Islanders' Hall of Fame.
