Sunday, May 29, 2016

Ben Bishop Autographed Card

How much faith did I have in the Tampa Bay Lightning facing off against the St. Louis Blues in the Stanley Cup Final? Obviously, way too much. I was keeping this card up my sleeve for a Ben Bishop return, which I expected to be a Game 7 shutout for some reason:
It's card #78 from Panini's 2010-11 All Goalies set, showing Bishop back when he was playing for his hometown Blues. It's signed in blue sharpie, and I got it in the mail last winter.

Trade rumours are currently clouding his future in Tampa Bay what with up-and-comer Andrei Vasilevskiy successfully taking over for the Bolts when Bishop pulled something in his leg in the first game of the Conference Finals, but I wouldn't trade him unless you got equal value for him, which, with Marc-André Fleury also rumoured to be available soon, might not be possible.

We are, after all, talking about a two-time Vezina nominee and Team USA representative, here. You would need a first-liner (of which the Lightning has plenty already), a first pairing defenseman or a top-20 first round draft pick to come out even in such a trade.

Although losing a Steven Stamkos to free agency wouldn't hurt so much if a Sam Bennett came along... but if I were GM Steve Yzerman, I'd aim for a T.J. Brodie for my back end or a Carey Price to give myself an extra year to ponder Vasilevskiy's future..

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