Josh Bailey could taste the AHL after all

"The Islanders have sent defensemen Dustin Kohn, Andrew MacDonald and center Josh Bailey down on paper to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to qualify for the team's Clear Day roster. All three have been recalled but it is basically a paper transaction so that if the Sound Tigers make the playoffs, all three are eligible to compete for the Islanders' top AHL affiliate."

>>Islanders official site

If this "Clear Day" thing is foreign or foggy to you, Michael Fornabaio at the CP goes into it in more detail. Remember that Kyle Okposo did a brief tour in the AHL playoffs last year on his way to battling Mark Streit at the World Championship.

So for Bailey this would be an interesting turn, as he was famously brought straight to the NHL from his eventual champion juniors squad in his draft year, then not released to join Canada's eventual champion WJC squad. That rushed sequence is still an open wound with many fans -- and who would've expected Bailey to find his best NHL form thus far ... at left wing? That form was interrupted by an injury that took him out through the Olympic break, this final 20-game stretch (including Tuesday night) bares close watching.

Of course, this paper move is no guarantee the Islanders would deploy him for AHL playoff duty. And there's no guarantee there will be any playoff duty to be had for the Sound Tigers: At the moment, they have work to do.