BEN BISHOP

The Buffalo Sabres acquired goalie Ben Bishop in a trade with the Dallas Stars on Friday in a salary cap-related paperwork move involving a veteran who is not expected to play again because of degenerative right knee injury. The Sabres add the final year of Bishop’s contract, which represents nearly a $5 million cap hit to boost their payroll closer to the NHL’s $60 million minimum. Buffalo, which also acquired a seventh-round pick in next month’s draft, was projected to be nearly $20 million under the cap floor before acquiring Bishop.

Stars Bishop Hockey FILE - Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop (30) defends the goal during an NHL hockey practice in Frisco, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 23, 2021. Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop's career is over because of a degenerative knee condition, general manager Jim Nill said Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) (LM Otero)DALLAS — (AP) — Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop's career is over because of a degenerative condition in his right knee, general manager Jim Nill said Saturday. The Stars recalled Bishop from a conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars of the AHL after he allowed eight goals on 34 shots in his only game. Battling the knee injury, Bishop played once in each of the first three playoff series.

Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop’s career is over because of a degenerative condition in his right knee.

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has waived his no-movement clause to be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft next week after approaching his team with the idea. The move, which the team confirmed Thurdsay, allows Dallas to protect veteran goalie Anton Khudobin from the Kraken. Jake Oettinger, the 22-year old who is considered the Stars' goalie of the future, is exempt from the expansion draft because he is still on his entry-level contract. Any player with a no-movement clause must be protected from the expansion draft unless he waives it. Each team's protected list — seven skaters, three defensemen and a goalie or eight skaters at any position plus a goalie — is due Saturday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because expansion protected lists from teams are not due to the NHL until Saturday. The move allows Dallas to protect veteran goalie Anton Khudobin from the Kraken. Any player with a no-movement clause must be protected in the expansion draft unless he waives it. The Dallas Morning News first reported Bishop waiving his no-movement clause, citing general manager Jim Nill. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop has waived his no-movement clause to be exposed in the Seattle expansion draft after approaching the team with the idea.

Six years later, he’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion at the peak of his career after backstopping the Tampa Bay Lightning to a second consecutive title. Continuing to validate the organization’s faith in him, Vasilevskiy had a shutout in all four series clinchers, never lost back-to-back games and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. “It’s all about experience and how the team is playing in front of you,” he said before the Game 5 clincher. “Night in, night out (the) backbone of this team.”That was Bishop’s role in 2015 before a torn groin derailed his Cup final. Vasilevskiy had started a total of 13 NHL games at that point and had the spotlight on him at age 20 on hockey’s biggest stage.

Goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after backstopping the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup for a second consecutive year.

(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)DALLAS – Joe Pavelski had two goals and two assists and Alexander Radulov also scored twice, helping Dallas beat the Nashville Predators 7-0 on Friday night in the Stars' delayed season opener. Five of Dallas' goals came in the second period, including three power-play goals and an unassisted short-handed wrist shot by Esa Lindell. Pavelski and Kiviranta added power-play goals in the third period, those against Pekka Rinne, who entered after Saros allowed five goals on 20 shots. CAPTAIN HURTStars captain Jamie Benn was injured when his right leg buckled awkwardly after a collision with Viktor Arvidsson in the second period. Three of the shots game in the first period, including a wraparound attempt into Khudobin’s pads and a hard second shot on the rebound.

The Stars' return comes after 17 players tested positive for COVID-19, even though most were asymptomatic. Their first four scheduled games, all on the road and including an early Stanley Cup Final rematch with Tampa Bay, were postponed. “Right now, listen, we're all ready for a game,” Stars coach Rick Bowness said after practice Thursday at their home arena. Now the Stars are the last team to open the NHL's 56-game, division-only regular season. About 5,000 fans will be allowed for Stars games, well below the hockey capacity of 18,532, though the NBA's Dallas Mavericks are playing their home games there without fans.

The triumph of winning the NHL championship in a bubble was certainly no less sweet for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played 964 regular-season and 137 playoff games to get to this point, losing in the final twice before. Tampa Bay had Point and No. Coach Jon Cooper thought the attitude needed to change from wanting to beat every opponent 9-0 because that’s not realistic in playoff hockey. ... Alexander Volkov made his NHL playoff debut for Tampa Bay, which also saw Patrick Maroon become just the eighth player to win the Cup in back-to-back seasons with different teams (St. Louis).