The clock on Josh Bailey’s future begins with the end of the Stanley Cup Final, meaning the first domino of the Islanders’ offseason should fall within the next couple of weeks.
The NHL’s buyout period starts Thursday, and runs until 5 p.m. on June 30.
Presuming the Islanders want to go into free agency on July 1 with as much cap space as possible available to them, that also functions as a window within which they must either find a trade partner for Bailey or take what savings they can in a buyout.
For a general manager who is famously opaque, Lou Lamoriello was quite clear about his intentions in speaking to reporters last week.
