NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One of the Blackhawks’ possible bad-contract trades that seemed most sensible for weeks became reality Thursday.
The Hawks acquired veteran forward Josh Bailey from the Islanders, then promptly placed him on waivers to buy him out. They received a 2026 second-round draft pick for doing so. The Islanders officially received future considerations, which means nothing.
The buyout incurs a $2.67 million salary-cap hit for the Hawks in 2023-24 and a $1.67 million hit in 2024-25, per CapFriendly. It makes Bailey, who previously had one year remaining at $5 million on his contract, an unrestricted free agent come Saturday.
Bailey, who will turn 34 in August, has slowed down considerably after 15 consecutive seasons with the Islanders. His 25 points in 64 games last season tied for the worst full-season output of his career.
In that sense, the trade makes perfect sense for both sides, who hammered it out thanks to the proximity provided by the NHL draft Wednesday and Thursday.
The Islanders freed up cap space to try to re-sign or bring in higher-end players. The Hawks, meanwhile, added another future asset to their rebuild by weaponizing their abundant cap space.
