Ben Bishop's puck-handling ability brings another element to the Stars mobile defense

General manager Jim Nill said a couple interesting things on Friday when he introduced new Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop to the local media.

First he called Bishop his No. 1 goalie. That’s not a surprise, but it does officially signal the end of a 1A/1B goalie juggling system that’s been in place the past two seasons.

Nill also wouldn’t officially call Kari Lehtonen the back-up — which still seems like the most likely outcome — and is keeping his options open to move either goalie, maybe even both, in what he expects to be a very busy early June for player movement.

Nill also gushed about Bishop’s ability to play the puck.

“He might be one of our best puck movers on our team when it comes down to it, that’s how good he is,” Nill said. “I talked to (Tampa Bay general manager) Steve Yzerman about a week ago and that’s what he raved about. He said he’s the best puck mover in the game.”

It’s a big asset for the Stars and it should help them move forward with a young mobile defense that features the likes of John Klingberg and Julius Honka.

“It’s another asset you can add to the team,” Bishop said. “If teams want to dump the puck in you can stop it and break the team out. It’s going to help everyone out more and use it to your advantage … if you can save the D from getting hit it makes their life easier and it can make the team a bit more frustrated.”

Stickhandling wasn’t a strong suit for the Stars goalies this past season.

Antti Niemi has zero puckhandling skills. Lehtonen is skilled but doesn’t make the smart decisions with the puck, and more often than not puts his defensemen in a bad spot looking for a big play.

Bishop’s strength comes on the little plays. Yes, he can make the long passes to spring breakouts, but he’s patient with the puck and is willing to wait an extra second to make the smart play. It forces the forecheckers to think twice and allows the defense to gain more momentum when entering the zone.

It’s similar to the impact that Pekka Rinne has for the Stanley Cup final-bound Nashville Predators. Throughout the Predators playoff run their defenders have thrived and built of Rinne’s patience with the puck, and ultimately foiled what used to be an aggressive Anaheim Ducks forecheck.

Bishop’s stick handling skills go back to his days as a forward when he was growing up.

“I loved scoring goals it was just one of those things when I was in the driveway as a kid,” Bishop said. “Or even as a goalie before and after practice I love shooting the puck and playing the puck. Before and after practice (now) I still like scoring goals and messing around.

“I wasn’t really working on it to make it an asset,” Bishop added. “But it was one of those things I realized when I got to the NHL that could be a chance to help the (defense).”