'It just made sense': Why Ben Bishop waived his no-movement clause

In a perfect world, the Stars will have three solid goalies next season, and might be among the best and deepest in the NHL at that position.
But there's a long way to go before they get there.

The first step in that process happened this week when veteran netminder Ben Bishop waived his no-movement clause so the team could expose him instead of Anton Khudobin for the expansion draft that will stock the Seattle Kraken on Wednesday, July 21 (7 p.m. CT; ESPN2).
Rules allow teams to protect one goalie, and Bishop's no-move meant he had to be the goalie protected. That would've exposed Khudobin as a possible selection, and that was a little concerning when you consider Bishop missed all of last season with a knee injury.
But Bishop approached the Stars about making himself available so that the club could protect Khudobin. In a perfect world, Bishop's injury issues and age would mean he's not a desirable choice for the Kraken, and that could mean that both Bishop and Khudobin could be in the Stars' goalie stable with Jake Oettinger next season.
"It was orchestrated by him 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."
Bishop, who has been rehabbing in Frisco, Texas, said he thought about what was best for the team and decided to put this solution forward.
"The situation I'm in, the situation the team is in, it just made sense," Bishop said. "It wasn't a hard decision to make, I know they wanted to protect Anton."

Bishop, 34, has battled injuries throughout his career and tried to come back during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs in August. That didn't work, and he continued to rehab in hopes of making it back for the 2020-21 season. He wasn't able to play a game. During different attempts to test the strength of his knee, his results have been mixed. He's currently skating with the hope he'll be ready for training camp in September.
"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."
If Bishop is healthy, he's one of the better goalies in the NHL. Since joining the Stars in 2017, Bishop has gone 74-48-11 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .923 save percentage. In that time, Bishop ranks first in save percentage among NHL goalies who have played more than 50 games and second in GAA.
Khudobin, 35, was one of the league's best goalies in 2019-20. He led the NHL in save percentage at .930 and posted a 2.22 GAA with a 16-8-4 record. He followed that up by leading the Stars to the Stanley Cup Final with a 14-10 record and a 2.63 GAA and .919 save percentage in 27 playoff appearances in the Edmonton bubble.

Last season, he battled COVID before training camp and had lingering issues while going 12-11-7 with a 2.54 GAA and .905 save percentage. Still, he seems to be recovered and is having a solid offseason, so there's a good chance he's 100 percent when the team convenes for camp.
He could be joined by Oettinger, who went 11-8-7 last season as a rookie. Oettinger posted a 2.36 GAA and a .911 save percentage, and at age 22 seems to be ready to either step into the NHL or eat up big minutes in the AHL with Texas. Because Oettinger doesn't require waivers, he could be playing on a regular basis in the minors and then get called up if Bishop or Khudobin were injured. That means the Stars could have options and could adjust to the health of either Bishop or Khudobin if they're both here.

"I do think we could be in a good place," Nill said. "Anton with COVID and everything going on had his struggles for various reasons last season, but we believe he'll bounce back strong. Oettinger now has a year in the league, and he has really taken the next step. Our hope is that we're in a good position next season because of what Ben has done for us."
Seattle could take Bishop, who has two years remaining on his contract with a $4.917 million cap hit and $3.5 million in salary, but his health does make it a bit riskier.
"Obviously, you open yourself up to that, I understand that, but I'm not going to try to figure the odds," Bishop said. "But I'm definitely going to watch the expansion draft."
The Kraken are required to select three goalies from among the 30 teams who have made their list available. The lists will be submitted Saturday and the expansion draft will take place four days later.
Among those who might be available from the Stars along with Bishop are forwards Jason Dickinson, Blake Comeau, Tanner Kero and Adam Mascherin and defensemen Joel Hanley and Andrej Sekera. The Stars are expected to lose one player.
If it's not a goalie, they'll go into next season with three netminders who have different positives and different concerns. Finding a way to get the most out of all three is the best-case scenario.
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika, and listen to his podcast.