Losing a player to injury is always an unfortunate circumstance. Of course, it is even worse to see more talented players get sidelined for extended periods of time due to the giant gap in leaves on the roster.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have faced their fair share of injuries to key players this season. Losing talented assets such as Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan have tested the team's depth and ability to keep the ship afloat while key members of the organization are on the mend.

The newest name added to the injury report is goaltender Ben Bishop who will be out 3-4 weeks due to a lower-body injury. Of course, this weakens the Bolts depth and talent at the goalie position. However, Bishop's injury means so much more than just that.

It is no secret that Steve Yzerman has invested the future of goaltending in Tampa Bay in the 22-year-old netminder, Andrei Vasilevskiy. It was made very clear when the Lightning signed him to an extension keeping him on the team until the summer of 2020.

Although the team already had an extremely talented netminder in Ben Bishop, it was apparent that they would not be bringing back the soon-to-be-free-agent in the summer of 2017. In all reality, this decision makes perfect sense when you have a young goalie proving he can handle the number-one goalie position. The future seems brighter and less expensive going that route.

This, of course, made Bishop the subject of endless trade speculation. It would be silly for Tampa to not try and get something for Bishop instead of just letting him go over the summer and receive nothing in return.

Unfortunately, the recent injury suffered by Bishop all but eliminates any sort of trade value he would have on the market this season. Yzerman is aware of how talented Bishop is and will not trade him away for a weak return. At the same time, other teams are going to be hesitant in coughing up valuable assets for a player that is proving to be an injury risk.

Now let me be clear, Bishop will still be a popular commodity over the offseason. A lot of teams are in the need of an upgrade at the goalie position and will surely look to bring Bishop in as a free agent. However, those teams will be comfortable just waiting for free agency and not look to acquire him via a midseason trade.

So is losing Bishop for an extended time due to injury costly to the on-ice talent of the Lightning? Of course, it is. However, the Lightning are just going to need to rely on the goaltender they are trusting the future with now, instead of waiting until next season.

What takes the biggest hit is the ability to trade a talented goaltender in Bishop for what could be valuable assets moving forward. The Lightning will have Ben Bishop on their roster for the entirety of this season and postseason, if they make it that far, no matter how healthy he is.

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