What the Hell Were the Kings Thinking Trading for Ben Bishop?

Sometimes when the NHL trade deadline looms, general managers are in a difficult spot. When your team has multiple needs and only so much salary-cap room, a decision needs to be made. Do you bolster the defense or add a scorer? Is the need for help on the blue line stronger than within the forward group, and which available players will provide the most help at each position?

The Los Angeles Kings had no such vexing choices yet they opted for help in the one area they needed none.

Despite allowing the fifth-fewest goals per game while playing nearly the entire season without their No. 1 goaltender that just came back from a groin surgery, general manager Dean Lombardi acquired Ben Bishop from the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday for Peter Budaj, a prospect, and a swap of 2017 draft picks. The deal comes one day after Jonathan Quick stopped 32 of 33 shots after a four-month layoff and the team sitting 24th in goals per game.

Everything about this deal is confusing from the Kings' perspective. Here are the 2016-17 numbers for Bishop and Budaj, the backup-turned-savior in Quick's absence, and Quick's career numbers since he's missed all but two games.

Quick: 2.26, .916
Budaj: 2.12, .917
Bishop: 2.55, .911

Let's say the Kings want insurance for Quick's groin. He just had major surgery and his playing suggests that groin could pop again at any moment. But you already have a goaltender on your roster that has proven through nearly 60 games that he can be that insurance policy and is far cheaper than Bishop.

There's also the example of the Dallas Stars when it comes to splitting time between two goaltenders that have been No. 1 netminders throughout their careers. Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi have been demonstrably worse since general manager Jim Nill instituted this experiment at the start of last season and there's danger for that here, especially when the Kings already had a career backup in Budaj. Bishop's numbers this season suggest he's not adapting to a smaller role (31 starts) all that well.

According to CapFriendly, even with the Lightning retaining 20 percent of Bishop's salary, the Kings only have about $780,000 in cap space. That doesn't preclude them from adding a scorer, which they desperately need if they are to make a run at a playoff spot, but it doesn't make things easier.

Even with Quick out, goaltending was never a problem in Los Angeles. If anything, this should have opened Lombardi's eyes to the fact that all you need behind a dominant possession team with a strong defense is an average goaltender, which Quick has been his whole career and Budaj was all season. They didn't need another goaltender. It's lunacy.

This isn't baseball when you can add another closer if you already have a great ninth-inning guy. You can't lock down a third-period lead by putting Bishop and Quick on the ice together for the final eight minutes. Lombardi looked at the freezing children inside his home and instead of paying to fix the furnace, he added a second front door.

Even odder, the Kings' history of Stanley Cup runs has included trade deadline deals for goal scorers Jeff Carter (2012) and Marian Gaborik (2014).

If Bishop scores 10 goals down the stretch and 14 more in the postseason, this deal will look great. Otherwise, it's baffling.