He held up just fine in the playoffs (they didn't lose to Pittsburgh because of goaltending) and Bishop has pretty much proven his body can't hold up to a workhorse workload, so now Bishop doesn't hold a talent edge, or a proven edge, or a workhorse edge, or a contract edge. There's no logical or reasonable argument to keep Bishop over Vasy.
I tend to agree with this. I fully expect Vasi to be the long term solution for TB in net. He has all of the potential in the world, they have patiently developed him, the timing is perfect for him to take over, he is locked in at a good cost, and he really stood strong against a Pittsburgh team that just offensively dominated every team they faced in the playoffs.
All this being said, I doubt we see Bishop moved out of TB this year. He holds more value as an asset in a cup run than he does in terms of return that they could get for him.
Next year Vasi will be unleashed on the NHL and start 60+ games. And it will be delicious.
Depending on where Bishop lands, we will find out whether he is a great goalie or a very good goalie that was in a great situation.
I think short of a good piece that will obviously help their cup chances this season, Yzerman is fine letting Bishop walk in FA. The expansion draft doesn't really matter. It's much different than the Pittsburgh situation.
Ben Bishop has played 60+ games each season in Tampa. That's been top-10 in the league for games started 3 years in a row. Add in playoffs and you got a guy who played 222 games between 2013-2014 and 2015-2016. He certainly does have a "workhorse edge" over a guy that has yet to play more than 25 games in a season. He is also more "proven" by extension. I don;t know how we're evaluating "talent" here but all indications are that Bishop has done great in Tampa and has the numbers to prove it.
I'd wager they don't move Bishop this year. I think they let his contract run out, and try to offer him a new one in the offseason if he wants it. Same kinda deal as Kucherov and Stamkos -- a discount and a chance to win the Cup. Call it poor asset management if you want, but no one's Cup window stays open forever, and the price of getting there is letting guys walk for nothing sometimes.
10-team H2H points keeper league, keep 4
G: 2, A: 2, SOG: 0.15, Hit: 0.15, Block: 0.15, W: 3.5, Sv: 0.025, SO: 6
7 F, 3 D, 1 G
2022-2023 Roster:
F: Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos, Artemi Panarin, Jack Hughes, Mark Stone, Josh Norris, Tyler Bertuzzi, PL Dubois, Sam Bennett, Tom Wilson (IR)
D: Kris Letang, Drew Doughty, Brent Burns, Shayne Gostisbehere
G: Ilya Sorokin, Thatcher Demko
I mean I'm not a doctor so I'm not going to say what Bishop's body can and cannot hold up to. But these were not all injuries that occurred on his 62nd game of the year. Injuries happen; most goalies who get injured a lot aren't playing 60 games. Most goalies in general are not playing 60 games in fact. If you're top-10 in the league in starts year-in year-out, you're a workhorse. If you're playing 60+ games, and posting above average numbers while doing it, it makes no difference if you're getting injured or not. You're helping your team win a lot of games, more than most goalies do. And that's really valuable.
10-team H2H points keeper league, keep 4
G: 2, A: 2, SOG: 0.15, Hit: 0.15, Block: 0.15, W: 3.5, Sv: 0.025, SO: 6
7 F, 3 D, 1 G
2022-2023 Roster:
F: Connor McDavid, Steven Stamkos, Artemi Panarin, Jack Hughes, Mark Stone, Josh Norris, Tyler Bertuzzi, PL Dubois, Sam Bennett, Tom Wilson (IR)
D: Kris Letang, Drew Doughty, Brent Burns, Shayne Gostisbehere
G: Ilya Sorokin, Thatcher Demko
Blades of Steel
9 Team Full Keeper - Pts Only (G,A,W,SO)
Crosby, Wheeler, Bergeron, Forsberg, Connor, Kopitar, E.Lindholm, Pastrnak, DeBrincat, Fiala
Jones, Klingberg, Hamilton, Theodore, Letang
Saros, Shesterkin
Garland, Vrana, Bjorkstrand, Verhaege, Backstrom, Karlsson, Perunovich, Spurgeon, Pulock, Hellebuyck
Blades of Steel
9 Team Full Keeper - Pts Only (G,A,W,SO)
Crosby, Wheeler, Bergeron, Forsberg, Connor, Kopitar, E.Lindholm, Pastrnak, DeBrincat, Fiala
Jones, Klingberg, Hamilton, Theodore, Letang
Saros, Shesterkin
Garland, Vrana, Bjorkstrand, Verhaege, Backstrom, Karlsson, Perunovich, Spurgeon, Pulock, Hellebuyck