Nov 22: Bishop has cleared waivers according to Friedman, and can be assigned to the minor leagues if the team chooses to do so.
Nov 21: Ottawa Senators forward Clark Bishop is finally coming back from injury, but could he also be headed elsewhere? Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that Bishop has been placed on waivers today by the Senators. This move comes as Bishop is activated from the Season-Opening Injured Reserve, having suffered a lower-body injury in training camp.
Bishop, 25, is a serviceable depth forward with 38 NHL games and over 200 AHL games under his belt in six pro seasons. The Senators acquired Bishop from the Carolina Hurricanes in January in exchange for defenseman Maxime Lajoie. While Lajoie has remained in the AHL and has yet to play for Carolina, Bishop got into 13 games with Ottawa last season and earned a one-year contract extension. The Senators clearly like the hard-working forward and may not even send him to the minors if he does clear waivers.
That is a significant “if” though. Young bottom-six forwards have moved around frequently on waivers so far this season and Bishop could be the next in line. Though not a scoring option, Bishop is a good defensive center who could plug into a fourth line role for a team facing injuries or depth concerns in their bottom six.
I’ve been impressed with him in the fourth line role for the short amount of time he’s played. Hopefully he sticks around as depth.