Tampa Bay Lightning fans were looking for clarity in the crease. They were handed a big dose of it yesterday, as General Manager Steve Yzerman announced that the team has signed Ben Bishop to a two-year contract extension. The deal, worth $11.9-million total, will carry an average annual value of $5.95-million in both 2015-16 and 2016-17.
I took some time just last week to discuss elite goaltending, Ben Bishop, and a potential contract extension. Here’s an excerpt:
To begin, it’s worth mentioning that Bishop doesn’t get nearly enough credit for the résumé he’s built himself over the past four seasons. Among goaltenders who have played more than 100 games since the 2010-11 season, Bishop ranks right up near the top.
Note: Goaltenders who have played more than 100 games since 2010-11 are ranked by save percentage.
One thing that sticks out on that table is the ‘Contract’ column. There’s a lot of big money there. While Bishop’s sample size isn’t quite as large as some of the other tenders listed, he is certainly part of a very elite group. That’s going to cost some serious coinage.
While players undoubtedly derive contract value from past performance, the teams signing them are far more concerned about future performance. How does Ben Bishop’s future look?
Using that aforementioned Marcel system from Hockey-Graphs, which projects save percentage for the next few years, it looks like he will continue to be a very solid option in net.
For those of you who didn’t go through the trouble of reading the methodology behind that forecasting system, it essentially weighs past performance, adjusts for regression towards the mean, and then adjusts again for aging. Bishop’s regression percentage is greater because his sample size is smaller. While not a perfect science, it does appear to provide some accurate fodder for analysis.
The bottom line here is that Ben Bishop is a really, really good goaltender. If he plays well again to start next season, he’ll be in line for a big raise.
That big raise I was talking about? He got it yesterday.
Reaction to the news of Bishop’s extension has been generally positive from all corners of the hockey world. If anything, people are complaining about the relatively high annual dollar value attached to the deal. Really and truly though, that’s a non-issue. Because the contract is only two years in length, the implications that come with paying top dollar don’t really exist.
What the short-term nature of this contract does do for the Lightning is give them time to develop Andrei Vasilevskiy correctly. It’s no secret that the organization is banking on the young Russian to be its goaltender of the future. Now, with Bishop under contract for the next three seasons, Vasya can spend some time in the minors, get acquainted with the North American game, and make the jump to number one status in the NHL when he’s good and ready.
In short, Steve Yzerman likely sacrificed a few extra dollars to cut down on the term for Bishop’s extension. That gives the organization flexibility and time with its prospects. Having a Veznia nominee around for the next three years isn't the worst thing in the world, either. Overall, call it a big win for the Lightning and their fans.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.