Retirement: Thank you for everything, Ben Bishop!
On May 9th, 2017 the Los Angeles Kings traded Ben Bishop to the Dallas Stars for a 4th Rd Pick (Markus Phillips) in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. This is where it all began, the Ben Bishop era of the Dallas Stars. We will be discussing Bishop’s influences on the team, on the fans, and his accolades as a Dallas Star. Ben Bishop was an incredible goaltender and an even more incredible human being. We at Blackout Dallas would like to say on behalf of Stars fans everywhere, thank you, Ben Bishop. Thank you for everything.
Ben Bishop’s influence on the team
Ben Bishop has proven to be a team player on more than one occasion, from cracking a joke to boosting morale or sitting down and mentoring the up and comers. Jake Oettinger has only been at the NHL level since the playoff bubble in 2020, but the influence that Bishop and Anton Khudobin have had is already showing in the young netminder. Oettinger has shown flashes of greatness since his arrival and the capability of being a Vezina winning goaltender. This is not the first time a young goaltender has emerged from Bishop’s tutelage into greatness. Andrei Vasilevskiy made his Tampa Bay Lightning debut in the 2014-15 season backing up, you guessed it, Ben Bishop. for 2 and a half seasons Vasilevskiy learned under Ben Bishop before taking over the starting spot in 2017 and has been a perennial Vezina finalist and even won the prestigious award in 2019. Maybe it’s a coincidence, maybe both organizations happened upon greatness at the right time, or maybe Ben Bishop is a natural leader and mentor. My money is on the latter and would love to one day see Bishop working with young goaltenders in a coaching capacity.
Documented greatness, what a STARt! Great to see family at the game, #GoStars w/@chrisreicherttx w/@nmoroch pic.twitter.com/aVombSYLi9
— Stars Faithful (@BensBishops) January 23, 2021
Ben Bishop’s impact on the fans
Inspired by The Traveling Jagr’s, Bens Bishops took their love of the Stars and their love of Ben Bishop to new heights. Donning the robes, stoles, and miters in a variety of Stars colors with pride, Bens Bishops became a staple of the American Airlines Center. Despite only being with the Stars since 2017 Ben Bishop quickly became a fan favorite with one of the most common Stars jerseys you’ll come across.
Ben Bishop showed Texas love across all sports and could be seen at the Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas Cowboys games rooting on the home team. As an athlete playing for Dallas he showed his appreciation for the local teams and their players. His calm demeanor in the net was also how he was as a person, being very genuine and showing his appreciation for the fans and those who helped get him to the levels of success he achieved. Ben Bishop was always very humble and never passed the blame onto anyone else, and the fans knew that was the kind of person you wanted on your team. A genuine class act all the way, these reasons are why the fan base took to Bishop so quickly when he arrived back in 2017
Ben Bishops Accolades
Over his storied NHL career, Ben Bishop posted a record of 222-128-36 with a GAA of 2.32 a save percentage of .921, and 33 shutouts. A 3 time Vezina trophy finalist, who is currently 4th all-time in save percentage and 15th in GAA. Ben Bishop had great success in the NHL and with the Dallas Stars, however, one key moment springs to mind. Game 6 vs the St Louis Blues in 2019 Ben Bishop sustained a shoulder injury that caused him to miss the remainder of the game, but he pushed through in Game 7 stopping 52 of 54 shots against in a devastating 2-1 double overtime loss that couldn’t be blamed on him. Ben Bishop is a world-class athlete, an all-class human being, and is absolutely all heart. Game 7 in 2019 and the perseverance to play again this past year and a half prove that. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you, Ben Bishop. You gave us all you had, we hope we gave you the same in return. We wish you the best of luck in all of your future endeavors, and you will forever be a Dallas Star.
(Yes, he’s on LTIR for the remainder of his contract but for all intents and purposes he has retired from professional hockey.)
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