The Dallas Stars goalie made the decision after attempting to come back from a knee injury that had sidelined him since before last season.
"It's a huge loss for us and a tough day for Ben, a tough few days," Dallas general manager Jim Nill said Saturday. "Really, it's been tough for him for more than a year, trying to rehab this. He's felt good, he's felt bad, but always hoping it would come back. But in the end, this is the way it goes."
Bishop began a conditioning stint with Texas of the American Hockey League last week and allowed eight goals on 34 shots in an 8-4 loss to Chicago on Thursday. It was his first game since Aug. 31, 2020, when he allowed four goals on 19 shots in 13:43 of a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round.
The 35-year-old was placed on long-term injured reserve Oct. 11. He had surgery Oct. 21, 2020, to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
"After one game, he could tell," Nill said. "That's why he wanted to go give it a try. It was the best he'd felt in some time. We were thinking of putting him in some games earlier, around training camp time, but he just didn't feel it was right then. He wanted to give it the best chance to heal up and to get it strengthened and get his game back in order so hopefully he could become a player again. So we've been kind of holding off. He's been working hard. He's done everything he could do from his end. He went down and played the one game, and in the end, he's just unfit to play, unfortunately."
Selected by the St. Louis Blues in the third round (No. 85) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Bishop was 222-128-36 with a 2.32 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and 33 shutouts in 413 games (397 starts) in 11 seasons with the Blues, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Los Angeles Kings and Stars.
A three-time Vezina Trophy finalist as the best goalie in the NHL (2013-14, 2015-16, 2018-19), Bishop helped the Lightning reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2015, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. He is second in wins (131) and shutouts (17) in Lightning history, behind Andrei Vasilevskiy in each (204 wins, 28 shutouts).
"It's very tough," Nill said. "He's been one of the top goaltenders in the League for the past 10 years. When he's on, there's not too many guys better than him. I think it's three years ago, just before the pandemic, I think we were No. 2 in the League in goals against and he was in the running for the Vezina Trophy."
Bishop was acquired by the Stars in a trade with the Kings on May 9, 2017. Three days later, he signed a six-year, $29.5 million contract ($4.92 million average annual value) that runs through next season. He was 74-48-11 with a 2.33 GAA, .923 save percentage and 14 shutouts in 143 games (139 starts) with Dallas.
In 2018-19, Bishop was an NHL Second Team All-Star and runner-up to Vasilevskiy in voting for the Vezina; he was 27-15-2 with a 1.98 GAA and an NHL-leading .934 save percentage.
He agreed to waive his no-move clause with the Stars to be exposed to the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft but was not selected.
Stars coach Rick Bowness was an assistant with the Lightning in 2015 when they reached the Cup Final.
"It hurts," Bowness told the Dallas Morning News. "I feel terrible for him because he's such a great person, and as I've always said, when he's on, he's a top-three goalie in the League. He took us to the Finals in Tampa [Bay]. When you go that far, you have a special bond.
"I've always felt very close with 'Bish.' I'm devastated for him and his family, I know he wants to play. It's just a very, very unfortunate thing that's happened."
The Stars, who did not qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, have used three goalies this season. Braden Holtby, who signed a one-year contract this offseason, is 5-1-1 with a 2.42 GAA and .923 save percentage in 13 games (12 starts); Anton Khudobin is 3-3-1 with a 3.73 GAA and an .873 save percentage in seven games (six starts); and Jake Oettinger is 5-1-0 with a 1.52 GAA and .951 save percentage in seven games (six starts).
NHL.com staff writer Tim Campbell contributed to this report
