L.A. Kings Sending Bishop's Negotiating Rights To Stars
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The Dallas Stars have traded for the negotiating rights to L.A. Kings goaltender Ben Bishop.
Jonathon Shipman of 105.3 The Fan was the first to break the news on Tuesday.
I'm hearing rumors of a potential Stars-Kings trade for the negotiating rights of UFA G Ben Bishop.
— Shippy (@ShippySpins) May 9, 2017
#Stars acquire goaltender Ben Bishop from the Kings in exchange for Montreal's fourth round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/XrbD3EdQEJ
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) May 9, 2017
In exchange for the rights to the 30-year-old netminder, Dallas will send the Kings the fourth round pick they acquired from the Montreal Canadians for defenseman Jordie Benn.
The Stars must now strike a deal to keep the free-agent goalie, who'll look to make a return to Dallas. The Denver native played for the Texas Tornado (now the Lone Star Brahmas) in the NAHL (North American Hockey League) during the 2004-2005 season. Bishop led the junior league team to their second consecutive National Championship.
In case you don't remember, here's a video of Bishop getting into a fight while he was a member of the Tornado.
Bishop was in the final year of a two-year, $11.9 million contract with an average annual value of $5.95 million, according to CapFriendly.com.
Dallas will have until July 1 to sign the 2015-2016 Vezina Trophy finalist or else he'll become an unrestricted free agent.
Bishop appeared in 36 Stanley Cup Playoff games in his career, including a Stanley Cup Final run in 2014-15, posting a 21-13 record with a 2.09 GAA and a .927 save percentage. His five postseason shutouts since 2014-15 are the most in the NHL.
"Ben has proven that he is one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL," said Nill. "This offers us the opportunity to negotiate with him before the free agency period begins."
Bishop went 18-15 with a 2.54 GAA between Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in 2016-2017 season. L.A. acquired Bishop to bolster their goaltender depth for a playoff run.
In his ten seasons in the NHL, Bishop has a career record of 148-80, a 2.32 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
In addition to the Kings and Lightning, Bishop has played for the St. Louis Blues and Ottowa Senators.
The 6-foot-7, 216-pounder was originally selected by the Blues in the third round (85th overall) of the 2005 NHL Draft.