Kings acquire goalie, Bishop, in trade with Tampa Bay
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Kings have decided to make their post-season push with two dependable veteran goalies sharing the crease.
Los Angeles acquired Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday in a trade including goalie Peter Budaj and an exchange of draft picks.
The Kings will pair Bishop with Jonathan Quick in a formidable tandem down the stretch as they attempt to make the playoffs for the seventh time in eight years. Los Angeles (30-27-4) is three points behind St. Louis for the second wild-card berth in the Western Conference.
Quick returned only Saturday from a 59-game absence with a serious groin injury, and general manager Dean Lombardi didn’t want to overwork his two-time Stanley Cup champion goalie during a difficult March schedule.
“This is not an insurance policy,” Lombardi said. “It is a way that we think to make sure that Jon is broken in properly, and make sure we’re in position to win every game down the stretch. Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of room for error . . . and we want to make sure we have a No. 1 goalie in there every night.”
The Kings gave up Budaj, who filled in admirably as their starter during Quick’s 4 1/2-month absence, along with junior defenceman Erik Cernak. Tampa Bay also got a 2017 seventh-round pick and another conditional pick that could become a second-round selection, but only if extraordinary conditions are met.
Los Angeles received Bishop and Tampa Bay’s 2017 fifth-round pick. Bishop is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The deal also was surprising after Budaj’s unlikely success with the Kings this season. The veteran Slovak netminder filled in splendidly after Quick got hurt in the first period of Los Angeles’ season opener, going 27-20-3 with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
But Budaj, who spent the previous two seasons in the AHL, gave up 19 goals during a rough five-game stretch earlier this month, including a 5-0 loss at Tampa Bay in which Bishop recorded the shutout. Budaj returned to a backup role Saturday while Quick backstopped the Kings to a 4-1 victory over Anaheim.
“Peter did a good job for us,” Lombardi said. “Stopped what you’re supposed to stop. He put up some pretty good numbers, but if you’re looking at some of the things I saw in the last couple of weeks, probably the aim was to make sure we had a quote-unquote No. 1 in there every night.”
Bishop is 16-12-3 with a 2.55 GAA and a .911 save percentage this season.
Lombardi said the Kings are trying to get Bishop to Minnesota in time for today’s game.
Bishop’s departure from Tampa Bay is just the latest upheaval in a tough season for the talent-loaded Lightning, who lost captain Steven Stamkos to knee surgery in mid-November. Stamkos is skating and doing hockey drills, but the team hasn’t said whether he’ll attempt to return this season.