Lightning GM: Salary Cap Concerns Were Factor In Trading Ben Bishop To Kings

The Tampa Bay Lightning managed to squeeze in a deal before Wednesday’s trade deadline by sending goalie Ben Bishop to the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.

Lightning GM Says Salary Cap Concerns Played Role in Trading goalie Ben Bishop

The Lightning receive goalkeeper Peter Budaj, as well as a seventh-round pick in 2017, a conditional pick in 2017 and prospect Erik Cernak, a defenseman who was the Kings’ (30-27-4, 5th in Pacific Division) second-round pick in 2015.

Although Tampa Bay (27-25-8, 6th in Atlantic Division) are seven points out of a wild card spot and eight points behind the third spot in the Atlantic Division with 22 games remaining, general manager Steve Yzerman is still hoping to reach the playoffs thanks to his new goalkeeping duo of Budaj and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“We’ve got two really good goaltenders,” said Yzerman, “and we felt like getting the young guy that can do the job at a lower number affords us the ability to go and allocate the funds to other parts of our lineup.”

Yzerman had tried to trade Bishop since last summer, but no deals came about. He began speaking with Kings GM Dean Lombardi a few weeks ago as goalie Jonathan Quick was preparing to return from a groin injury, which he did in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, making 32 saves. Quick had been sidelined since after the first game of the regular season.

“The biggest reason to make the move now, ultimately, is we’re concerned with the salary cap for next year,” Yzerman told reporters on Monday. “I could wait until the end of the season and do it; we know we’re going to lose one of them (in the expansion draft). Obviously we made the decision on which one we’re going to keep, which one we’re going to move.

“With what we have in some performance bonuses for our younger players we’re going to be squeezed next year with the cap — we don’t even know what the cap is going to be. But we do know Victor’s [Hedman] new contract is kicking in next year, we do know we’re going to try and sign our other players, so we felt the need to do this right now to give ourselves as much cap space for next year. It had to be done now instead of waiting until the end of the season.”

Yzerman was looking ahead to the offseason with this deal. Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Jonathan Drouin and Andrej Sustr are set to become restricted free agents on July 1, with Johnson, Palat and Sustr holding arbitration rights, per CapFriendly.

The trade deadline is 3 p.m. on Wednesday, and Yzerman could potentially make another big move before then. Brian Boyle is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

 PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 13: Ben Bishop #30 of the Tampa Bay Lightning makes a glove save during the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game One of the Eastern Conference Final during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 13, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)