When he’s not earning (if not winning) Vezina Trophies for the Dallas Stars, Ben Bishop makes his home in the small St. Louis County town of Des Peres, Missouri. He headed back there earlier than any of us would have liked this year, after the Stars’ heartbreaking 2OT loss in Round 2, Game 7 to the St. Louis Blues.

And that’s where he was when the Blues ultimately won the Stanley Cup. He talked about the experience with Matthew DeFranks of The Dallas Morning News:

“It was tough to watch,” Bishop said after taking batting practice Wednesday before the Diamondbacks-Rangers game. “I’m happy for the guys, it’s a tough trophy to win, but you’re a little jealous. I guess that’s probably the big word. You wish it was you out there. But we got a good taste of what it takes, and how close we were and hopefully we can use that as fuel next year and enjoy the rest of the summer here and we’ll be back at it sooner than later.”

That motivation may already be taking shape, especially after Bish watched the parade and celebrations and started imagining the same scene in Dallas:

“We have great fans down here and I know if we were there, it’d probably be twice as big,” Bishop said. “That’s what makes it so fun. You go through training camp and the regular season to get to those playoff games, and have the whole city behind you. That’s what makes it a lot of fun.”

There’s more behind the paywall. [SportsDayDFW]

Stars Stuff

You may still have time to take part in one of the Stars’ wholesome and delicious offseason Twitter polls – now with more donuts Tyler Seguin!

Believe us, narrowing down @tseguinofficial's top plays to just four was not easy.



Now you get the fun part! Pick one of these four as your favorite. Good luck with that. #GoStars — Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) July 19, 2019

Forward prospect Riley Tufte is in town, and he’s making some kids’ week right about now.

Around The League(s)

The New York Rangers plan to make Jacob Trouba comfortable for the next little while, to the tune of seven years at $8 million AAV.

Jacob Trouba signs 7-year deal with Rangers



Full details: https://t.co/dyz2w96lnu pic.twitter.com/qhsoz5iGpk — Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) July 19, 2019

As you can see, the defender has some pretty good lockout protection built in.

Trouba Contract:



19-20: $4M Salary, $8M Signing Bonus

20-21: $2M Salary, $8M SB

21-22: $2M Salary, $6M SB

22-23: $6M Salary

23-24: $8M Salary

24-25: $6M Salary

25-26: $6M Salary



NMC Clause 20-21 to 23-24. Limited No Trade Years 6/7https://t.co/mpJUQTcaqt — PuckPedia (@PuckPedia) July 19, 2019

It also means the Blueshirts will need some fancy footwork to shed salary against the cap.

Rangers signing of Jacob Trouba means cuts to come elsewhere, maybe sooner for Chris Kreider. @TheAthleticNYC #NYR https://t.co/WWQC1cKPfp pic.twitter.com/o2BSqt9QRc — Rick Carpiniello (@RickCarpiniello) July 20, 2019

This week, in Battle of the Untradeable Contracts: Did the Edmonton Oilers get a clear win over the Calgary Flames by swapping Milan Lucic for James Neal? Discuss.

It's official: The Flames and Oilers have swapped wingers.https://t.co/Emifm7ZQoM — Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 19, 2019

This is an actual condition of this actual transaction.

Two conditions have to be met for Oilers to send 3rd round pick to Calgary - James Neal has to record at least 21 goals and Lucic scores at least 10 fewer goals than Neal. — Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) July 20, 2019

And that’s my cue to just leave this here.

Hey guys did you know that Milan Lucic is #ActuallyGood and that James Neal is totally done even though last season could be written off as a horrible fit anomaly in an otherwise strikingly consistent career? Because that's apparently what we're going with, based on my TL. — Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) July 19, 2019

Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean your favorite RFA isn’t on the way out. Craig Custance has, as we say, Done The Sums, and he says you’re right to worry.

Why you should brace for a trade if a player and team actually go to an arbitration hearing: https://t.co/Ad68jYowPP — Craig Custance (@CraigCustance) July 19, 2019

Here’s a good look at the Ron Francis signing by Seattle Team To Be Named Later.

More than 2 years before it will start playing games, Seattle’s NHL team conducted perhaps its most important piece of business: hiring Ron Francis as its first GM.@eduhatschek on the two-time Stanley Cup champion who’s excited for the opportunity:https://t.co/RRu7gf3TJr — The Athletic (@TheAthleticSEA) July 19, 2019

Finally

Whether you want to squish Gritty or just squish him, this may be the Official Merchandise Product for you. Enjoy, or something.