Early career Although he was born in
Denver, Colorado, Bishop grew up in suburban
St. Louis where he played
minor ice hockey for the Kirkwood Stars, as well as for the St. Louis Junior Blues. He played in the 2000
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the St. Louis Junior Blues. Bishop played forward until age eight, when he was converted to a goaltender. He later moved to
Frisco, Texas, where he graduated from high school before attending the
University of Maine. Bishop played for the
Texas Tornado of the
North American Hockey League (NAHL) during the 2004–05 season. He appeared in 45 games and posted a league-best record of 35 wins (including 5 shutouts) and 8 losses. His
goals against average (GAA) of 1.93 was second in the NAHL. Most notably, he led the Texas Tornado to their second consecutive National Championship. Bishop was named to the first team of the NAHL All-Rookie Team at the end of the season. As a freshman for the
University of Maine during the 2005–06 season, Bishop finished the regular season with a record of 21 wins, 8 losses and 2 ties with a 2.28 GAA. In his first game as a collegiate player, he lost in overtime to
Colorado College in Colorado. The following weekend, Bishop led Maine to a sweep of the back-to-back national champions, the
University of Denver. In October 2005 and February 2006, he was awarded Rookie of the Month as well as Goaltender of the Month by the
NCAA's
Hockey East conference. He was also named Rookie of the Week four separate times. Bishop led the Black Bears to the 2006
Frozen Four, losing to the
University of Wisconsin–Madison in the semi-finals, despite playing strongly. On October 24, he made his NHL debut, coming off the bench in relief of the injured
Manny Legace to start the second period, giving up two goals over the final 40 minutes in a 4–0 loss to the
Los Angeles Kings. Bishop ultimately appeared in six games with the Blues in
2008–09 and was the back-up
goaltender for all four of the team's playoff games that season in the first round sweep at the hands of the
Vancouver Canucks. After starting goaltender
Jaroslav Halák was injured in the
2010–11 season, Bishop was called up from Peoria. In his third game played of the season, he would record his first NHL shutout, which came against the
Edmonton Oilers at
Rexall Place on February 25, 2011, stopping all 39 shots in a 5–0 win. On July 5, 2011, Bishop signed a one-year contract with the Blues.
Ottawa Senators (2012–2013) in February 2013 On February 26, 2012, Bishop was traded to the
Ottawa Senators in exchange for a second-round pick in the
2013 NHL entry draft. A kitchen accident resulted in Senators' starting goaltender
Craig Anderson being injured indefinitely with a hand laceration, a situation that may have hastened Bishop's move to Ottawa. At the time of the trade, Bishop was the AHL's top goaltender with a 24–14–0 record, a 2.26 GAA, a .928 save percentage and an AHL-leading six shutouts through 38 games. Bishop made his Senators debut against the
Tampa Bay Lightning on March 6, 2012, in a game which Ottawa won 7–3. He earned his second win in as many starts in a 4–1 win over the
New York Rangers. He finished the season with a 3–3–2 record and 2.48 GAA in ten games played with Ottawa. However, his play improved as he was named the NHL's Third Star of the Week on February 25, 2013, after posting a 2.03 GAA and .931 save percentage, as Ottawa won all four of its games.
Tampa Bay Lightning (2013–2017) On April 3, 2013, Bishop was traded at the
2012–13 NHL trade deadline by the Senators to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward
Cory Conacher and a fourth-round draft pick. On April 4, Bishop made his Lightning debut, shutting out the
Carolina Hurricanes 5–0 in
Raleigh, North Carolina. On April 15, Bishop signed a two-year, $4.6 million contract extension with the Lightning. Bishop set a career high and Tampa Bay franchise record on January 19, 2014, by making 48 saves in another victory over Carolina. During the
2013–14 season, Bishop was named the starting goaltender for Tampa Bay over
Anders Lindbäck. Bishop posted a 37–14–7 record last in the 63 games played that season. He also recorded a .924 save percentage and a 2.23 GAA. Bishop was ranked fourth in games played, as well as seventh in save percentage and goals against. He posted five shutouts, which was the second most in Lightning history, and also set single-season records for wins, save percentage and GAA. He recorded the second-most saves in Lightning history, with 1,625. Bishop was nominated for the
Vezina Trophy—NHL's top goaltender—for the season due to his stellar play in net, though he ultimately finished third in voting. During a game against the
Toronto Maple Leafs on April 8, 2014, he fell awkwardly on his left leg. He had to be helped off the ice that would end his 2013–14 season, as Tampa Bay were swept out of the first round of the
2014 Stanley Cup playoffs by the
Montreal Canadiens. On August 2, 2014, the Lightning announced Bishop's contract had been extended for two years. On March 30, 2015, Bishop became the first Lightning goalie to record two assists in one game. On April 4, 2015, Bishop earned his 38th win of the season in a 4–0 shutout of the
Florida Panthers, which was a personal best and surpassed the Tampa Bay franchise record he set the previous season. On April 11, 2015, Bishop extended his personal best and team record to 40 wins in a 3–2 Lightning shootout win over the visiting
Boston Bruins. On April 18, 2015, Bishop made his
Stanley Cup playoff debut—and earned his first career playoff win—in a 5–1 victory over the
Detroit Red Wings. On May 29, 2015, Bishop joined
Tim Thomas and
Patrick Roy as the only goaltenders to post shutouts in two seventh games in a single playoff year. Bishop also became the first goaltender to post two shutouts in two seventh games in his first season in the playoffs. Additionally, Bishop became the first goaltender to win back-to-back playoff shutouts in
Madison Square Garden, which would cause the New York Rangers to lose their first game seven at home in their franchise's history. After losing to the
Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the
2015 Stanley Cup Finals, Bishop revealed he tore his groin on a
Brad Richards shot in the second period of game two. The injury did not require surgery, just rest during the off-season. On October 17, 2015, Bishop became the all-time leader in regular season wins for the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting his 84th win in a 2–1 victory over the visiting
Buffalo Sabres. In doing so, he surpassed former Lightning goaltender
Nikolai Khabibulin's record of 83 regular season wins. On October 23, 2015, Bishop won his 100th career NHL game in a 4–3 Lightning victory in overtime over the
Winnipeg Jets. On January 6, 2016, Bishop was named to the
2016 NHL All-Star Game, his first career All-Star appearance. Bishop also became the second Lightning goaltender selected to an All-Star Game in team history. On February 3, 2016, Bishop recorded his 100th win for the Lightning in a 3–1 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. Bishop also became the first Lightning goalie to record 100 wins in franchise history with the victory. On March 19, 2016, Bishop posted his 15th career shutout in a Lightning uniform. This shutout moved Bishop past Nikolai Khabibulin for the most shutouts in franchise history. On April 27, 2016, Bishop was named one of the three finalists for the Vezina Trophy. Bishop led the NHL with a 2.06 GAA and posted a 35–21 record with a .926 save percentage.
Braden Holtby and
Jonathan Quick were the other finalists named. This was Bishop's second time being a finalist for the Vezina. Bishop finished as runner-up in the Vezina Trophy and was named to the
NHL second All-Star team. The record came during a 6–4 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings. On October 25, 2016, Bishop's two front teeth were knocked out by the Toronto Maple Leafs'
Peter Holland on a shot to his mask. Bishop, stunned, shook his head, causing his teeth to fall out into his mask. On November 17, 2016, Bishop played in 207th game for the Lightning, surpassing Daren Puppa for most games played by a goaltender in Lightning history.
Los Angeles Kings (2017) During the 2016 off-season, rumors built up about the Lightning's intention to trade Bishop due to salary cap restraints for Tampa Bay and the impending
2017 NHL expansion draft, as Bishop was entering the final year of his contract and set to become an unrestricted free agent the following summer. After a deal with the
Calgary Flames involving a contract extension fell through, Bishop began the 2016–17 season with Tampa Bay. As the Lightning dealt with lingering salary cap space concerns sitting outside of a playoff spot, Bishop was traded three days before the NHL trade deadline on February 26, 2017, to the
Los Angeles Kings in exchange for goaltender
Peter Budaj, defenseman
Erik Černák, a
2017 NHL entry draft seventh-round pick and a conditional second-round pick in 2017. Bishop made his debut with Los Angeles on February 28, a 2–1 overtime loss in which he stopped 28 of 30 shots and was awarded the game's third star. Acquired by the Kings to back-up
Jonathan Quick (who was just coming off an injury in which he missed most of the season) and to bolster the team's chances of making the playoffs, Bishop appeared in seven games with the club, but was unable to help the squad to a playoff appearance. On May 12, 2017, it was announced via the
Dallas Stars official
Twitter account that the Stars and Bishop agreed to a six-year contract worth about $29.5 million. On March 14, 2019, in a game against the
Minnesota Wild, Bishop broke
Ed Belfour's franchise record for longest shutout streak before being pulled due to a lower body injury. At that time, Bishop ranked second in the league in goals against and first in save percentage. The Stars later announced Bishop was day-to-day. In the
2019–20 season, Bishop was able to reach his second career Stanley Cup Finals appearance, and first with the Dallas Stars, albeit deemed "unfit to play" throughout the majority of the playoffs. In the three playoff games he played, he struggled mightily, posting an .844 save percentage and a 5.41 goals against average. The Stars would lose 4–2 to the
Tampa Bay Lightning, his former team. The Stars announced Bishop would be out five months following surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. On April 14, 2021, the Stars announced that Bishop would be ruled out for the rest of the
COVID-19 pandemic shortened
2020–21 season. Still hoping to continue his professional career, Bishop continued his rehabilitation into the
2021–22 season. Starting the season on the injured reserve, Bishop later accepted a conditioning assignment to AHL affiliate, the
Texas Stars. After letting in 8 goals in a 8–4 defeat to the
Chicago Wolves, Bishop was returned to Dallas' long-term injury reserve list and effectively signalled his retirement from professional hockey, later confirmed by Stars general manager
Jim Nill due to having a degenerative knee injury on December 11, 2021. On June 10, 2022, Bishop's contract along with a seventh-round draft pick in
2022 were traded to the
Buffalo Sabres in exchange for future considerations. ==International play==