On September 22nd, an era ended for a Metropolitan division rival, as center Travis Zajac signed a one-day contract to retire as a New Jersey Devil. Zajac, 36, led a fantastic National Hockey League career as a longtime face of the Devils, appearing in 1,037 career games with 203 goals and 349 assists for 552 points. However, even for his longtime stay with New Jersey, he made a brief stop with the Islanders for what are now his final NHL games. Even if his regular season impact was minimal for New York, he filled a spot on the third line well during their playoff run, scoring the opening goal in Game 6 against the Boston Bruins in Round Two. However, as the career of Travis Zajac comes to a close, the career of a fellow Islander can draw parallels to Zajac’s, and that player is Josh Bailey.

Much like Zajac, Bailey is a longtime face of the Islanders’ franchise, entering his 14th year with the team. On the stats sheet, things are fairly similar as well with 162 goals and 349 assists for 511 points. However, despite the similar numbers on paper, more connections can be made by looking deeper into their careers.

Longtime Faces

The main comparison begins with the fact that Josh Bailey and Travis Zajac have endured many years with their respective teams. Zajac spent the better part of his 15 seasons as a Devil, compiling 1,024 games with the club. That number has him fourth on the team’s all-time games played list, and he is one of only four Devils to ever play a thousand games with the franchise, alongside faces such as Martin Brodeur and Patrik Elias. Bailey meanwhile has 919 games with the Isles, placing him third all-time on the games played list. He sits ahead of names such as Clark Gillies and Bobby Nystrom, and if he plays the rest of his contract in New York, he can not only hit 1,000 games but catch Denis Potvin and Bryan Trottier on the all-time list.

Now, of course, this isn’t to say these two men are the greatest players in their franchises’ histories. Neither one of these two players will make it to the Hockey Hall of Fame, not by a long shot, but their loyalties to the franchises will be evident in the record books. The two stuck through the highs and lows of their franchises over the past ten-plus years, from seasons of struggles to great playoff success, and their loyalties are worthy of praise when their careers are over.

Playoff Contributions

Another piece to consider in their similarities is their contributions to deep playoff runs. With both teams years removed from the glory days of multiple Stanley Cup wins, Zajac and Bailey were key pieces to deep runs in post-championship eras. The former boasts an impressive playoff career with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 71 games, but most of those numbers came as a Devil, where he tallied 11 of those goals and 17 of the assists. However, his most notable contributions came in the 2012 playoffs, as he tallied seven goals and seven helpers in 24 games en-route to the Stanley Cup Final, including a notable goal in Game 6 of Round One against the Panthers to force a Game 7.

Bailey, meanwhile, also has a reputation of being a playoff performer. His playoff career is impressive with 16 goals and 34 assists for 50 points in 71 games, and his contributions helped two of the team’s best playoff runs since the Islanders’ 80’s dynasty. His contributions in 2020 were impressive, as his line with Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier was their best line that postseason. Although he only scored twice that playoff, Bailey was a catalyst to their success, tallying 18 assists alongside the two in 22 games. However, his performance this past postseason is more comparable to Zajac’s 2012 run, as he continued his strong play with Nelson and Beauvillier. He was far more notable putting the puck in the net, tallying six goals and seven assists in 19 games, and, like Zajac, scored a clutch overtime goal in Round One, this one in Game 5 against Pittsburgh.

As a result, when you put all the pieces together, Josh Bailey is on a similar career trajectory to Travis Zajac. Even with the obvious comparison of the numbers, both of the players have similar value to their respective franchises. Both players contributed to deep playoff success and have been longtime stalwarts to their teams. Even though they aren’t the best players on the ice most nights, they possess a clutch gene to their games and can come up in the big spots. Add their longtime loyalties, and Zajac and Bailey aren’t the best players in their teams’ histories, but they are some of the most clutch and loyal players to take the ice.

Matthew Page

I am a first year student at Hofstra University and an avid Islanders fan. I have been writing for Drive4Five since March 2020. My family has been season ticket holders for the team since 2016, and hockey is my favorite sport. As I expand my knowledge in the field of Journalism, I am writing to express my love for the Islanders and the NHL.