Saturday, January 26, 2013
Oilers' interest in Bishop
By Victoria Matiash
UPDATE: Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun confirms the Edmonton Oilers have an interest in Ben Bishop, but the Ottawa Senators aren't ready to trade their current No.2 netminder yet.
Garrioch suggests the Senators may wait until the Vancouver Canucks first deal Roberto Luongo. At which point, the market for goaltending should swing in their favor.
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By letting in six goals in the first period of Tuesday's contest against the Sharks, Devan Dubnyk fell well short of convincing naysayers he deserves to be the unheralded No. 1 with the Edmonton Oilers. Only one game, sure, but the poor performance highlighted what is already acknowledged as a shortcoming on Edmonton's roster.
Despite the presence of a serviceable Yann Danis (veteran Nikolai Khabibulin is hurt), the Oilers are more than likely interested in improving their goaltending department by acquiring another player. Not as replacement for Dubnyk, per se, but as a quality backup or No. 1A. And that brings us to Ben Bishop of the Ottawa Senators.
As summarized by Edmonton Journal, TSN's Darren Dreger and Bob McKenzie discussed the possiblity of the Oilers forging a deal with the Senators for Bishop -- noting the presence of talented youngster Robin Lehner (recently sent down to the AHL). No doubt the Oilers would love to add a young netminder like Bishop, but at what cost? A hefty one, to be sure.
Fact is, the Senators adore having a trio of talented netminders in Craig Anderson, Bishop, and Lehner. Sens GM Bryan Murray would have to be presented with a gem of a return to give up that kind of insurance. And, with Danis and a healing Khabibulin on board, the Oilers are probably unwilling to give up what's necessary to close such a deal. Not yet, anyway.
