The decision allows the Stars to leave the 34-year-old goalie exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft presented by Upper Deck, which will be held July 21 (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN1, SN NOW).
"The situation I'm in, the situation the team is in, it just made sense," Bishop told the Stars website Friday. "It wasn't a hard decision to make, I know they wanted to protect (goalie) Anton (Khudobin)."
Each NHL team can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie. Any player who has a no-move clause must agree to waive it to be exposed. The deadline for teams to submit protected lists is Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
"It was orchestrated by [Bishop] because of the uncertainty of his status and because he wanted to help the organization," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "He hasn't really played in a year and a half, and he knows what Anton has done for us, so I think he just decided this is what's best for everyone."
Seattle will select one player from each team, excluding the Vegas Golden Knights, for a total of 30 (at least 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies).
Bishop did not play this season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. He last played Aug. 31, 2020, against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round.
"We're just going to have to take it day by day as far as the rehab process goes, and then decisions will be made," Bishop said. "It's just really step by step. It's frustrating, but I've fought through a lot so far and I understand it's a slow process."
He has two seasons remaining on a six-year, $29.5 million contract ($4.92 million average annual value) he signed with the Stars on May 12, 2017, three days after he was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings. Bishop is 74-48-11 with a 2.33 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and 14 shutouts in 143 games (139 starts) in three seasons with Dallas. He led the NHL with a .934 save percentage in 2018-19 and was runner-up to Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL.
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round (No. 85) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Bishop is 222-128-36 with a 2.32 GAA, .921 save percentage and 33 shutouts in 413 regular-season games (397 starts) with the Stars, Kings, Lightning, Ottawa Senators and Blues. He is 29-21 with a 2.27 GAA, .924 save percentage and five shutouts in 52 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Khudobin was 12-11-7 with a 2.54 GAA, .905 save percentage and three shutouts in 32 games for the Stars this season. He was 14-10 with a 2.69 GAA, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 25 playoff games (24 starts) last season to help Dallas advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where it was defeated by Tampa Bay in six games.
Dallas (23-19-14) finished fifth in the eight-team Discover Central Division this season and did not qualify for the playoffs. Jake Oettinger, who was 11-8-7 with a 2.36 GAA, .911 save percentage and one shutout in 29 games (24 starts) is not eligible to be selected in the expansion draft.
"Our hope is that we're in a good position next season because of what Ben has done for us," Nill said.
