The Dallas Stars made headlines with a trade for Ben Bishop on Tuesday, but that’s only the beginning of a long-term solution for a big issue.
For the Dallas Stars, the deal that brought Ben Bishop to the Metroplex in exchange for a fourth-round NHL Draft selection was all too necessary. The struggles faced by the fundamentally flawed two goalie system of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi had weighed the Stars down far too much to handle.
The Los Angeles Kings accepted the offer of the pick, originally attained in the trade of Jordie Benn to the Montreal Canadiens, for the pending unrestricted free agent. The Kings initially garnered the former All-Star goaltender from the Tampa Bay Lightning.
With Bishop, twice a finalist of the National Hockey League’s Vezina Trophy for the game’s preeminent goaltender, those worries are significantly downsized. Bishop is fourth in wins (130), eighth in save percentage (.920), and fifth in goals against average (2.26) in the NHL since the 2013-14 season.
No questions asked, this is a massive upgrade for a team like the Dallas Stars, one that remains in a win-now mode despite a tremendously disappointing 2016-17 season. Bishop will allow their youthful defense to grow into a Ken Hitchcock system with few concerns about the backstop behind them.
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However, what happens when Bishop, already 30, begins to decline like many goalies in his age range do is beyond me. Perhaps the biggest personnel issue that the Stars possess is the development of their goaltending talent.
Dallas has not had a starting goalie drafted and developed by the franchise itself since Marty Turco, perhaps the best goaltender in Stars history. Since then, it’s been Atlanta Thrashers draftee Lehtonen, Chicago Blackhawks-developed goalie Antti Niemi, and now Ben Bishop, who has had all kinds of success elsewhere.
This will stir up a lot of anger for long-time fans like us at Blackout Dallas. The Dallas Stars have drafted, developed, and ultimately wasted the potential of Jack Campbell, Richard Bachman, Tobias Stephan, and even NHL All-Star Mike Smith over the years with Turco and Lehtonen as the starter.
Dallas Stars
One reason for this is the absence of a full-time goaltender coach for the American Hockey League’s Texas Stars, the primary feeder team of the Dallas Stars. With no goaltender coach in Cedar Park, a town north of Austin, the Stars have failed time and time again to bring their own netminding talent up through the ranks.
This worries me to hell and back. The Stars have two NHL-calibur prospects in the minor leagues with accolades that span up and down the junior ranks, Philippe Desrosiers and Landon Bow. Neither of them are quite ready for the Majors, but they’re only a few steps away from perhaps seeing their first NHL action.
Both Bow, a former Swift Current Broncos (WHL) goaltender, and Desrosiers, who spent time with Romouski Oceanic (QMJHL) prior to jumping to the pro leagues, are only 21 years old. Their development is like growing a bed of flowers; make sure they get the sun and water they need.
The Dallas Stars, in addition to NHL goaltender coach Jeff Reese – who has done a phenomenal job with the organization – need to hire a full-time AHL goalie coach. Goaltending is often times the one thing a team needs to separate themselves from pretenders to contenders, and with how young the Stars are, they’ll need a consistent, reliable goalie in the crease for years to come.
Next: Stars Must Buyout Antti Niemi to Afford Ben Bishop
Whether it’s Bow, Desrosiers, or even Bishop perhaps aging well and playing into his late 30s, goalie coaching will be instrumental to any success the Stars do or don’t have. To prevent any hiccups, however, it’s up to the front office to provide the future of the Stars goaltenders a chance to blossom as well as it can.