BISHOP TO BOLTS FOR ROOKIE CONACHER
The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired goaltender Ben Bishop from the Ottawa Senators for forward Cory Conacher and a fourth-round draft pick in 2013.
What does it give the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay continues to struggle in their own end, giving up almost three goals per game this season. While young netminder {P Anders Lindback} may eventually be a star (and was playing very well before getting injured recently), Lindback isn't quite a sure thing and Bishop is more than talented enough to push him for the lead role. Bishop has shown real flashes of excellence with Ottawa this season and should start regularly down the stretch for Tampa Bay. He is a restricted free agent after this season, so shouldn't be too hard for the Lightning to retain. Losing the slick and talented Conacher is a tough pill to swallow, but TB has talented forwards {P Tyler Johnson} and {P Brett Connolly} both waiting for more playing time soon.
What does it give the Ottawa Senators
Conacher is a talented scoring forward who has excelled at every level (including in the NHL this season). At just 23 years old he is just scratching the surface of his talent, and should step into a top-six role for the fast-improving young Sens right away. This is a nice move by the Senators, who dealt from a position of strength (since they have a current star in {P Craig Anderson} and a future star in backup {P Robin Lehner}) and add yet another talented scorer up front. Adding a draft pick is an impressive bonus.
Fantasy impact
Bishop gets a big boost fantasy-wise for the rest of this season (as he should start regularly over veteran {P Mathieu Garon}), and in keeper leagues Bishop becomes even more intriguing. Lindback obviously gets a minor downgrade in both the short-term and long-term, especially in dynasty formats (where he now projects as a platoon guy for 2013-14). Conacher is amongst the NHL rookie scoring leaders already, so should continue to figure prominently with his new team. On the current Senators roster, don't be surprised if {P Colin Greening} or {P Guillaume Latendresse} sees less ice-time on left wing soon.
