Tampa Bay Lightning: 5 Reasons The Bolts Should Trade Ben Bishop

1. Something Is Better Than Nothing

This is the overarching mentality that will be broken down more in later sections.  Losing Ben Bishop will be a blow to the Tampa Bay Lightning.  That isn’t to say that Andrei Vasilevskiy isn’t a good goalie, but Bishop is currently a step above the young netminder.  He’s the starter for a reason, after all.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The only thing worse than losing your starting goaltender is losing him and getting nothing in return.  If the Lightning gamble with Bishop during the expansion draft, or if he isn’t traded or resigned before the end of the season, it’s entirely possible he could walk away from the Tampa Bay Lightning and they would get nothing in return.

This is a very possible and not unlikely worse case scenario that could unfold if the Lightning decide not to trade Bishop.  What makes this worse is that a trade involving Bishop could fetch a lot of talent for the Lightning.

A lot of teams would be willing to offer a great return for the goalie.  It would be an opportunity for the Lightning to bolster their blueline or to further solidify their offense.  To see this opportunity go by and see Ben Bishop walk away and get no return for the Lightning would be a much too preventable misfortune.

The Lightning have depth in their offense and in goal.  This could be an excellent chance to get equal depth on defense.  Taking into account the Lightning’s history of injuries, increased defensive depth can only help the Lightning.  If Anton Stralman or Victor Hedman were to sustain long-term injuries, the Lightning’s best option would be to recall Slater Koekkoek from the Syracuse Crunch.

If Bishop has to go, the Lightning should get some kind of return for him.  In the quite possible event that Ben Bishop will never play for the Lightning again after this season, it’s better to get something for his loss than nothing.