Their Last Games In Dallas

If you're a fan of cameo appearances by players in jerseys they don't normally wear, the man to the left will officially have a one-game appearance in an AHL Texas Stars uniform. That's goaltender Ben Bishop who was playing for the AHL Stars in a conditioning stint as he looked to return to NHL form, but it became clear that the 14 months of rehabbing the meniscus problem in his knee hadn't prepared him for AHL shots, let alone NHL shots. Dallas Stars' general manager Jim Nill made it clear Saturday, stating, "[B]y going through the process, going down there and playing, he found out that it's the end of his career."

Bishop was in the Texas Stars' net on Thursday night as the team hosted the Chicago Wolves, and it didn't go well. CJ Smith scored on Bishop on the Wolves' first shot via a two-on-one just 33 seconds into the game, it was 3-3 after the first period, 7-4 after 40 minutes, and 8-4 at the final horn as Bishop allowed eight goals on 34 shots in 58:32 of work in his first game in 466 days since undergoing surgery on his knee. Perhaps what makes this news harder to swallow, though, was that Bishop was all smiles post-game as he spoke with reporters.

"It was nice. It was a lot of fun to be back out there. Obviously, would have liked a better result, but it's been a long process, a long road to get back in a game," Bishop said in the scrum after the game. "It's a little bittersweet. Obviously you'd like to get that win, but yeah, it's been a long road and it hasn't been easy and it's nice to be back."

Despite Bishop's positive outlook on being back, the Dallas Stars made the decision on Saturday to recall the netminder from his conditioning stint and immediately placed him on LTIR where it appears he will remain until the end of his contract in 2023. Bishop will collect $4,916,667 this season and next season while on LTIR while the Stars try to work around his cap hit, his no-movement clause, and his modified no-trade clause. Needless to say, Ben Bishop's career for the foreseeable future, as Jim Nill stated, is over.

As stated, Bishop sounded optimistic after the game on Thursday night, but Jim Nill set the record straight. "He's the one that said 'No, that's it,'" Nill told The Dallas Morning News. "In the end, he's the one that had to make that decision. I don't know how he feels. All I know is I watched the performance. He's the one that knows."

With that statement, the 35 year-old's career ends at 413 NHL games where he posted a record of 222-128-36 with five franchises including the Blues, Senators, Lightning, Kings, and Stars. With the Stars, he logged 143 games worth of time in the blue paint, posting a 74-48-11 with a 1.98 GAA and a .923 save percentage. The three-time Vezina nominee will speak to reporters about his decision and his future on Tuesday, so it seems like Ben Bishop's career will end at the numbers posted above.

The goaltending shuffle in Dallas doesn't just end shuffle with Bishop, though, as his long-time tandem partner, Anton Khudobin, was waived by the Stars today after being a healthy scratch for the last eight games. Khudobin last played on November 18 as he has been supplanted by Braden Holtby and Jake Oettinger in the Dallas crease, so the 2019-20 tandem of Bishop and Khudobin appears to be out in Dallas just two short seasons after their magical run to the Stanley Cup Final. "What have you done for me lately" appears to be the motto in Dallas this season.

Khudobin appears to be headed for the Texas Stars if his rather commanding $3.333 million cap hit isn't claimed by another team Tuesday afternoon, and he'll still linger on the Stars' cap as he's eat up $2.208 million despite playing in Cedar Park. Oh, and he's signed through next season, so Khudobin might be a problem at least until the summer when teams will look to retool and tinker with their goaltending.

Honestly, it hasn't been a good season for Khudobin as he's sitting with a 3.73 GAA and a .873 save percentage which are simply awful. By having him work through whatever is plaguing him down in the AHL, there's hope that the market for a good goalie like Khudobin may heat up, allowing the Stars to swing a trade. The move also frees up a roster spot and a some salary cap space in case the Dallas Stars need to recall players, so this move worked on a number of fronts for the NHL club.

I would imagine that there will be an expectation that Khudobin plays in the AHL, and it seems he'll likely split time with Adam Scheel. The good news is that Texas is sitting in seventh and last place in the Central Division, but they trail third-place Rokford by just three points. If Khudobin can go down to Texas, work out the blips, and give them some solid netminding, he could help Texas climb the standings in a quick way. How long he remains down there will obviously be based on trade offers, but the Texas Stars could see dividends if Khudobin is there for a longer period of time.

At the end of the day on Monday, though, it's been a rough few days in Dallas for a tandem that looked unbeatable and took Dallas to within two wins of a Stanley Cup in 2020. It just goes to show you how quickly fortunes can change in the NHL despite past successes.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!