Blues fans have been lamenting the fact the team traded away goaltender Ben Bishop in 2012 and now he’s preparing to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final. Bishop may join the annoyingly-long list of former Blues to win a Cup, but it’s still important to avoid looking at the Bishop situation in hindsight.
Bishop’s success has seemingly made Blues fans forget why the team traded him in the first place. At the time, the Blues were loaded with goaltenders and Bishop was about to become a free agent. Goaltending was an area the Blues thrived in as Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott combined to win the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals during the 2011-12 season. At the NHL level, it looked like the Blues were set with Halak and Elliott.
Meanwhile, Bishop was playing well in the AHL with Jake Allen was waiting in the wings. Bishop was aware of the logjam and stated that he wanted guaranteed NHL playing time. That was something the Blues couldn’t offer and with Halak and Elliott’s success, a trade was really the only possible outcome.
Of course, Blues fans know how the last few years have gone. It’s always tough to see a former player go on to find success, but at the time a trade made a lot of sense. For what it’s worth, the Ottawa Senators are the ones who should be kicking themselves. Their Bishop trade to Tampa Bay brought in Cory Conacher and that experiment didn’t go too well, though the Sens are pretty stocked in terms of goaltending at the present.
Long story short, you can’t blame the Blues for the Bishop trade due to hindsight. Bishop made his intentions clear (they were fair – he was due NHL time after his AHL successes) and he wasn’t going to find playing time with the Blues. He would’ve left through free agency a few months later had the Blues retained him, so it was wise to get some sort of return on their leaving asset.
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