The Dallas Stars effectively solved their goaltending problems yesterday in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. But now they must finalize the solution.
The offseason started off with a bang yesterday for the Dallas Stars when they traded a fourth-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goaltender Ben Bishop.
Bishop is a top-10 goalie in the NHL in terms of performance and consistency and will undoubtedly solve the Stars’ lingering goalie problem simply by showing up and standing in the crease.
But don’t forget that it’s not a done deal yet. Ben Bishop is still technically a pending UFA. When the Stars traded for him, they traded for his negotiating rights. If Dallas and Bishop don’t have a deal in place by July 1, Bishop is free to talk to any other team about a contract and the Stars will have lost a fourth-round pick.
So the clock started on Tuesday at 4:55 p.m. when the trade was announced. Now it’s on Dallas to get the deal done.
Pucks and Pitchforks
The Dallas Stars were wise in this acquisition simply because of their timeliness with doing it. They knew that a new contract would have to be reached, so Jim Nill went after it as quickly as he could. As a result, the Stars will have about 50 days to get a deal in place.
At first glance, it almost seems as though a new deal is a shoo-in. These sort of trades rarely ever go sour without a deal being made, giving Dallas plenty of motivation. Not to mention that Bishop is excited to come to Big D.
“I know how passionate the fans are there. I was just really excited to hear the news,” Bishop told SportsDay.
With his excitement and Nill’s way of swiftly getting things done, there’s almost no doubt that a contract will be agreed upon in the very near future. But there’s always that shadow of a doubt until things are in stone. It’s kind of like relying on a Stars’ 3-1 lead in the third period this past year; you want to say it’s over, but you can’t say anything until the final horn.
The Stars saw a similar situation with goaltender Antti Niemi in the 2015 offseason. Dallas traded a seventh-round pick to San Jose on the second day of the NHL Draft (June 27) in exchange for Niemi’s negotiating rights. That means the Stars only had four days to get him signed. Nill got it done just 48 hours later.
And now Niemi is likely being removed via buyout or trade in the coming offseason, but that’s beside the point.
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The question on the minds of many Stars fans is what a new contract for Bishop might look like in regards to price, duration, and a few other things.
It’s an interesting debate to have, so let’s go over the basics really quickly.
Ben Bishop is a really good goaltender. We know that. Over his 270 game career at the NHL level, he owns a 141-80-25 record with a .919 save percentage and 2.32 goals against average. Those are extremely steady numbers and are highly respectable.
It’s almost assured that Bishop will be the starter next year, meaning he will likely be playing 50+ games next year. There has been talk of Bishop forming a starting duo with Kari Lehtonen, but that will be up to Ken Hitchcock. Either way, it’s probably a safe bet that Bishop will be in the crease at least 50 times next season.
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He’s also 30 years old. That could be taken one of two ways. Some might think that Bishop is leaving his prime, while others may believe that he’s just now in the middle of it. That solely depends on Bishop and his play, but considering his recent play, it’s probably more along the lines of the latter.
Considering all of those factors, it’s likely to see Bishop getting somewhere in the range of $5.0-6.0 million next year. His current cap hit is $5,950,000, which is just $50,000 more than Kari Lehtonen’s. While that may seem a little steep, it only makes sense. Bishop is still in his prime, is just what the team needs, can play a starting role, and can backstop this team to victory.
A salary between $5.5 and $5.9 million might be a good estimate in this case, similar to what he is currently making.
The next question is the length of the deal, and that could be a bit more tricky to figure out. Bishop is 30, which is not necessarily old or young for an NHL goaltender. He’s in a happy medium at the moment.
Considering his status and reliability as a starter, it’s safe to assume that the Dallas Stars are looking for at least three years. Anywhere beyond that is a guess. Dallas could be looking to secure him long-term and go for a five or six year deal or could be looking to stick with three to four years to play it safe. Either way, Bishop will likely be here at least through 2019-20.
Those parameters, from a logical standpoint, seem the most fair for both sides. There could very well be some wiggle room, so don’t take this as an exact estimate.
The final question that must be answered before any of this happens is how long it will take for the deal to be finished up. 50 days is a long time, but time can be sneaky. For example, the Dallas Stars finished their season up against the Colorado Avalanche 33 days ago. It certainly doesn’t feel like it was that long ago (or maybe it does).
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But rest assured that Nill is likely already hard at work at getting Bishop locked down. The two sides seem motivated and prepared to get something locked down in the near future, which is a good sign.
And if we know anything about Jim Nill, it’s that he knows how to get things done.