2 Teams That Should Sign a Bought-Out Ben Bishop

Ben Bishop recently waived his No-Movement Clause with the Dallas Stars, allowing the team to leave him exposed to Seattle during their expansion draft later this month. The 34-year old netminder played two seasons in Dallas, earning himself a Vezina Trophy nomination with them in 2019. However, Bishop missed all of last season after having surgery to repair a knee issue that left him sidelined during most of Dallas' playoff run in the 2020 Edmonton Bubble. As it stands, Seattle has the option to take a number of talented goaltenders during their expansion, including Braden Holtby and Chris Dreidger. It seems unlikely they'll be taking on Bishop's $4.9 million contract, which still has two years left on it, and with Khudobin and Oettinger set to be the Stars goalie tandem next year, Bishop is looking like a strong buyout candidate for Dallas. If the Stars go that route, here are 2 teams that could sign Big Ben going forward.

Vancouver Canucks

As stated earlier, Vancouver's goalie Braden Holtby is a prime candidate for Seattle to claim in expansion. Thankfully, the Canucks have a young star goaltender in Thatcher Demko, who they signed to a 5-year contract. They will, however, need to back Demko up with someone, and Bishop is a solid choice in that regard. Bishop is a veteran, he's been to the Cup Finals as a starting goalie with Tampa Bay in 2015, and he's still young enough to have plenty of game left to give. He's the type of player that could benefit a young Canucks team both on and off the ice, and can help steady the team's shaky defence with his experience in goal. It's merely a question of whether Bishop would be interested in coming to Canada. The fit is there.

Colorado Avalanche

The rumors are that the Avalanche are trying to work out a deal with Arizona to bring in Darcy Kuemper, probably to give Philipp Grubauer a more reliable backup than Pavel Francouz has been. It sounds like Arizona is not parting with their goalie at a discount, with a 1st round pick being the baseline ask from the Coyotes in return. If Colorado decides that price is too steep, they may circle back to Bishop, who could be had for just a paycheck. Kuemper currently makes $4.5 million this year, and Bishop could be had for less. Plus, Ben is from Denver, giving him a hometown connection to the Avs. The only concern is how much Bishop's recent injury issues have affected his play, if at all. Bishop hasn't played hockey in almost a year, so for him to join a team looking to contend for the Cup, he'll need to be in game shape from day 1. 

Where do you think Bishop will be playing next season?

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