Stars missed boat on Bishop trade
Where was Jim Nill?
The Dallas Stars general manager missed a prime opportunity to fix his goaltending mess Sunday when the Tampa Bay Lightning dealt netminder Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings.
To boot, the Kings acquired Bishop at a relatively low price, sending veteran netminder Peter Budaj, prospect Erik Cernak, and two draft choices to Tampa Bay.
Sitting 12th in the West, the Stars are nine points outside of the playoff picture, due in large part to holes in the crease. The duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi owns the NHL's second-worst shared save rate, coming in at .895. On Sunday, Lehtonen allowed six goals on 28 shots in a loss to the Boston Bruins.
It's been a disappointing season in Dallas after the Stars won the Central Division a year ago en route to a 109-point finish. The team advanced to the second round of the postseason, its best playoff finish since 2008, before the goaltending went south in the decisive Game 7 versus the St. Louis Blues. In that match, the Stars' netminders allowed five goals on only 18 shots.
Heading into next season, Lehtonen and Niemi are both under contract, but some shuffling by Nill could fix that problem. The GM could issue a buyout to either goaltender. (Niemi would be the more logical buyout, penalizing the Stars just $1.5 million over the next two seasons.) Another option is to include an asset with either netminder to tempt the Vegas Golden Knights to pluck either Niemi or Lehtonen in the upcoming expansion draft.
As for Bishop, he's a pending unrestricted free agent, and a pure rental for the Kings, as there isn't a long-term space for him in Los Angeles behind starter Jonathan Quick. But a short tour in Texas would have allowed the Stars an opportunity to evaluate him as a full-time option for 2017-18.
That won't stop the Stars from potentially pursuing Bishop in the offseason, should he reach free agency, but there are no guarantees. If Bishop is off the board, the free agency pool offers little depth, headlined by the likes of Ryan Miller, Jonathan Bernier, and Steve Mason.
In the meantime, Dallas is set to miss the playoffs, failing to build on last year's impressive campaign. That may not have been the case had Nill acted early and shored up his team between the pipes.
Consider it a squandered opportunity in Dallas.