Dealing Bishop Might Not Be Only Move Bolts Make

The Tampa Bay Lightning traded goalie Ben Bishop along with a fifth-round selection in 2017 to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goalie Peter Budaj, defensemen Erik Cernak, a seventh round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and a conditional pick in 2017.

Who The Lightning Receive:

Budaj, 34, has played in 53 games with the Kings this season (27-20-3) and has a 2.12 goal-against average to go along with a .917 save percentage. He also has seven shutouts on the season. In an 11 year NHL career he has appeared in 350 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings, the Montreal Canadiens, and the Colorado Avalanche. Overall, he has a 152-127-39 mark and has 18 career shutouts.

Cernak, 19, has skated in 41 games with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. He has registered three goals and 17 points, along with a plus-27 rating. He has played 82 career OHL games with Erie, recording seven goals and 32 points with a plus-34 rating.

Lighting Send Bishop To Kings

Bishop, 30, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He has a 16-12-3 record with a 2.55 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. Last season, he was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy.

Bishop’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors ever since when Andrei Vasilevskiy proved he was ready to assume a more prominent role in last year’s playoffs.

Additionally, there was the looming restrictions during the Las Vegas expansion draft plus the Bolts own expected salary cap crunch.

He was in the final year of a two-year, $11.9 million deal. He waived a full no-movement clause in the deal.

Bishop was traded to the Lightning by the Ottawa Senators during the 2012-13 season. He began his career with the St. Louis Blues after being drafted in the third round (85th overall) of the 2005 draft.

Lightning May Not Be Done:

The Bishop trade may be the first of several moves that GM Steve Yzerman makes over the next several days. Brian Boyle, an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season is a valuable commodity. Tyler Johnson, due to upcoming salary cap issues over the summer, also could be moved prior to the trade deadline.