It was a wild stroke of luck thing looking back at it! When he was traded to Chicago I was PUMPED but of course they immediately cut him and he didn't catch on anywhere. I hated and still continue to hate Lane Lambert for how he treated Bailey his last year. Benching him 2 or 3 games before his 1,000 game resulting in him playing his 1,000 as an Islander not at home was criminal. Not to mention he finished with 1,057 regular season games as an Islander in third place behind Denis Potvin who had 1,060.

The guy was a huge X factor in the playoffs every year it seemed. He was never the splashiest guy but he was part of those incredible playoff runs that pushed Tampa to the max. 15 years with one team is wild in sports nowadays and looking and seeing if he had played 64 games for the Islanders last year he would have moved into 1st place in games played for them is just another wild career fact

That moment and that experience were huge for me in my recovery. I was turning 21, had just had my third surgery, wasn't in college with all my friends, stuck wearing a C collar for 6 months but that experience was just undescribably positive. It gave me something to look forward to as well because I immediately bought the NHL.tv package for the Islanders. Just cannot say enough good things about Bailey and his wife!