Bishop was placed on long-term injured reserve Oct. 11. He did not play last season after having surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee on Oct. 21, 2020.
"I think at the beginning of training camp, obviously I wanted to play in camp, but I wasn't ready yet," Bishop said Monday. "Looking back on it, I even realize more that I wasn't ready to start playing then. Not necessarily just from the knee, but also from the hockey aspect, getting that practice time in. I hadn't really skated that much during the summer. I was still doing the rehab, but I wasn't skating every day. I took some time off there.
"I feel like my goalie skills are sharper now than they were then. It's a good time. I'm as ready as I'll ever be, and my skillset from the goalie side feels really good right now, so it's just the right time."
The 35-year-old has not played since Aug. 31, 2020, when he allowed four goals on 19 shots before being pulled in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round.
The Stars (13-7-2), who have won seven games in a row, are tied for second in the eight-team Central Division. They next play at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday (10:30 p.m.; BSW, BSSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
Bishop has been skating recently with Stars goalies Braden Holtby, Anton Khudobin and Jake Oettinger. Dallas is eighth in the NHL in goals against per game at 2.64.
"Yeah, it's great news," Stars coach Rick Bowness said. "Listen, he's been a trouper throughout this whole thing, he's worked hard. It's an imperfect scenario when you have four goalies out there in practice. But he's been very respectful for the guys who are playing, giving them the right amount of practice time. He's been a true pro about it, he's worked hard and he's ready to go and find out where he is."
Bishop is expected to practice with Texas, play against Chicago of the AHL on Thursday, and go from there.
"It's been a long process," Bishop said. "It is what it is. It's kind of the cards I was dealt, so you have to play them. I've just been taking this time to try to get ready, and now we're here. I'm obviously really excited and I guess there's a little nerves too. We're talking today, I think the bubble was the last time I played a game, so it should be a lot of fun."
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 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and 33 shutouts in 413 games (397 starts) with the Blues, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Stars.
Bishop was acquired by the Stars in a trade with the Kings on May 9, 2017. Three days later, he signed a six-year, $29.5 million contract ($4.92 million average annual value) that runs through the 2022-23 season. He is 74-48-11 with a 2.33 GAA, .923 save percentage and 14 shutouts in 143 games (139 starts) with the Stars.
He agreed to waive his no-move clause with the Stars to be exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft on July 21, but was not selected.
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report
