Rule one of dumping a contract is don’t retain on said contract. Do you really want to trade Bellows who is worth maybe a 3rd or 4th round pick and a second round pick to dump bailey WITH retention.

Do you realize how close this is to the Ladd deal? Hell there may be some Kieffer Bellows fan boy out there who values him more than I do!

Josh Bailey, last season: 74 games, 14 goals, 30 assists = 44 points
Josh Anderson, last season: 69 games, 19 goals, 13 assists = 32 points

Josh Bailey, last two seasons: 128 games, 22 goals, 57 assists = 79 points
Josh Anderson, last 2 seasons: 121 games, 36 goals, 20 points = 56 points

Islander fans: Bailey isn't worth much, so we hope we can dump him
Habs fans: Anderson is so fantastically good that he's worth the 13th overall draft pick, or maybe the 7th, or maybe the 5th, or maybe the 4th . . .

I can see Anaheim paying a middling draft pick for him.

First this is the worst case scenario, read the title. Second the market so far dictates that trading players with more than 3million AAV is difficult and will cost a premium for the last two off seasons. A young team which usually has the most capspace available is looking to take on a 25 year old winger rather then a 32 year old that has left his prime and is prospected to be on the third line on most teams.
Yes Bailey has some value but other GMs know that Lou is looking to sign a big time free agent. Lou has zero leverage in trading out a player. The other GMs around the league will take advantage of that.

we all know those montreal fans in that example were delusional. no one was paying for Anderson. That doesnt mean the Isles quest to dump money will be easy or somehow related to those crazy Montreal fans.

You mean Kassian and Nemeth? Not comparable.

He didn’t say easy. He said U r overreacting to moving Bailey.

I read the title. Ur just wrong.