Lightning GM doesn’t expect to sign draft pick Isaac Howard
Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois says that it is unlikely that Isaac Howard will sign with the team.
Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois believes it is unlikely that Isaac Howard will sign with the team.
This comes after Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on the 32 Thoughts Podcast on April 11 that the Michigan State star was not signing with the team and had decided to return to school for his senior season.
Under the NHL and NHLPA CBA, teams hold the rights to drafted NCAA prospects for four seasons. Howard was drafted by the Lightning in the first round in 2022, 31st overall. By choosing to play his senior season, Howard can become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15, 2026.
As Friedman explained, the expectation was that the Lightning would consider trades for his rights instead of risking walking him to free agency.
“I think the Lightning know that the odds are now against them and that he probably is not going to be part of their organization, but nobody said anything bad about him,” Friedman said on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. “Basically, what I was told, because nobody really wanted to get into mud slinging, they just didn’t see eye to eye. … Whatever the path Howard saw and the path the Lightning saw, it didn’t line up.”
Howard, 21, is a five-foot-11 left winger who led all NCAA players in scoring this season with 52 points and was tied for third in goals with 26.
Howard is the only first-round pick the Lightning have drafted in the past five years because the team has been aggressive in trades to keep their Stanley Cup window open.
