Buffalo Sabres acquire Ben Bishop’s contract from Dallas Stars
In reality, Ben Bishop is no longer an NHL goaltender. Chronic knee issues forced him into a soft retirement as of December 2021, when, after 14 months attempting to rehab a knee injury, he indicated his playing days were done.
On paper, however? Bishop has one season left at a $4.917 million cap hit, which includes $3.5 million in actual salary, comprised of a $2.5 million base salary and $1 million signing bonus.
As first reported by ESPN’s Kevin Weekes, that contract is on the move. The Buffalo Sabres were close to acquiring the Bishop contract from the Dallas Stars, Weekes said Friday.
**Breaking News ** 📰🚨 I’m told that the @BuffaloSabres are close to acquiring Ben Bishop’s contract from the @DallasStars in a Salary Cap move. @NHL #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/pNgd0ZjHcC
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) June 10, 2022
The trade was made official Friday afternoon. Buffalo receives Bishop and a 2022 seventh-round pick. Dallas receives future considerations.
The Buffalo Sabres have acquired goaltender Ben Bishop and a seventh-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft from the Dallas Stars in exchange for future considerations. pic.twitter.com/35hi3jTykZ
— Sabres PR (@SabresPR) June 10, 2022
Bishop’s cap hit will help the Sabres reach the salary floor. The Sabres only have about $42 million committed to the cap so far for 2022-23.
Bishop, 35, hasn’t played since he started three games for the Stars during the 2019-20 postseason bubble tournament. He’s a two-time second-team all-star and three-time Vezina Trophy finalist. His 222 career victories place him 10th all-time among U.S.-born goaltenders, while his .921 career save percentage ranks fifth in NHL history, trailing only Dominik Hasek, Ken Dryden, Johnny Bower and Tuukka Rask.