Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Steve Yzerman made a move in 2013 that surprised many, trading Corey Conacher and a 4th Round draft pick to the Ottawa Senators for a backup goaltender.
That goaltender, Denver native Ben Bishop, would go on to become the Bolts’ starter and one of the most memorable goalies in franchise history. He overtook Anders Lindback as our starting goaltender at the onset of the 2013-2014 season. He helped the team go to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2015 and then back to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016.
Unfortunately, neither season ended with the Tampa Bay Lightning lifting the cup, but fans did see him overtake two long holding franchise records: most shutouts in franchise history from Nikolai Khabibulin and all-time leader in saves from Daren Puppa.
Bishop was ultimately traded to the LA Kings last season near the trade deadline — a casualty to the ever-looming salary cap — and the reins were handed over to the deserving hands of his protege, Andrei Vasilevskiy. In return, the Lightning received its current backup, Peter Budaj, (recently re-signed for two more years) Erik Cernak, and some draft pick exchanges.
The Kings acquired Bishop as a fail safe. Jonathan Quick had been injured in the beginning of the season with a groin tear, a familiar injury to Lightning fans and Bishop himself. While Quick had returned strong, LA’s then general manager, Dean Lombardi, wasn’t convinced that the Kings had seen the last of Quick’s groin injury. The scenario of potentially losing Quick once again and Budaj’s late-season slump contributed to Lombardi pulling the trigger on Bishop. Now they had insurance and a reliable backup to carry them into the playoffs if they made it.
They didn’t.
During the off-season, Bishop’s UFA negotiation rights were traded to the Dallas Stars in return for a 2017 4th round draft pick. They signed him to a six-year, $29.5 million contract.
Bishop was an integral part of the Tampa Bay Lightning community on and off the ice, but he doesn’t know the extent to which he affected some of us on a personal basis. I watched him play in the Stanley cup finals in 2015, fell in love with the sport and immediately knew I wanted to play.
I wanted to be a goalie, like Bishop, but I had a major obstacle in my way: I weighed 350 pounds. I made it my goal to lose the weight so that I could play. It took me 2 years to lose the 150 pounds I needed to, but watching Bishop play is what kept me motivated and learn to play in net. To commemorate this, I wear the same number he wore while he played for the Tampa Bay Lightning on my beer league team sweater, No. 30.
"“Everyone has an origin story, the place where you’re born that stays in your blood and shapes who you are. Until the day comes when you’re called somewhere new to try and make your mark. Little by little the people become your people. Their hopes; your responsibility. You offer them everything and in return that’s what they give you back. Together you work to build something as permanent as the city itself, a symbol for all it means to live there. Until finally, if you’re lucky they consider you a native son. And that’s when you realize, a person can be from two places at once.”"
If you watched the World Cup of Hockey last year, you probably remember these words from NHL’s ‘Two Places’ advert. During his stay with the Lightning, Bishop made his mark with us, and, little by little, we became his people. Every game our hopes of winning rested on his shoulders. He gave us his all every game and in return we gave him our roar as a crowd.
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Ben Bishop’s tenure with the Tampa Bay Lightning is one of the many pieces that built Tampa into the hockey town it is today. I think I can speak for us all when I say you will always be a native son to Tampa, Ben, until you try to shut us out when we play the Stars. Good luck in Dallas and thank you for everything you did for our team and me personally. I’ll always be rooting for you regardless of the color of your sweater.