Saturday: Bailey has cleared waivers, NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston reports. He’ll now be allowed to rejoin the Condors.
Friday: The Edmonton Oilers have announced that forward Justin Bailey has been signed to a one-year, $750k two-way deal.
The contract comes after Bailey was signed to an AHL deal with their affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, in September. As part of the signing, Bailey has been placed on waivers for the purpose of officially assigning him to the AHL.
Bailey, 27, is a veteran of 82 NHL games, playing sporadically in the world’s top league over the past seven years. In that time frame, even as Bailey’s NHL opportunities were inconsistent, Bailey developed himself into a valuable AHL scorer.
Last season, Bailey scored 27 points in 30 games for the Abbotsford Canucks, the Vancouver Canucks’ AHL affiliate. In 2019-20, he scored 47 points in 53 games for the Utica Comets. This season, he has 10 points in 16 games for the Condors.
Now that he’s signed to an NHL deal, the Oilers will have the opportunity to recall Bailey from Bakersfield should that be something they wish to do. Before this signing, the Oilers had just 44 contracts on their books, meaning this deal is of little significance when it comes to the 50-contract limit.
Overall, this signing is great news for Bailey, as he likely receives a pay raise as part of the deal as well as the chance to possibly get into some games for the Oilers should the opportunity to do so present itself.