Michigan State's head coach Adam Nightingale, top center, and players, from left, Reed Lebster, Nicolas M ller and Jeremy Davidson look on from the bench during the third period in the game against Michigan on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at Munn Arena in East Lansing. Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

All-Time Brutal Week for MSU Hockey

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jul 10, 2025 12:02 PM ET

The Michigan State hockey program suffered their worst week in a very long time after a pair of crucial players will not be sporting a Spartan sweater this season. Things still look bright, but they have drastically changed in a very negative way following a few major decisions.

For starters, 2026 NHL top prospect Gavin McKenna officially announced on Tuesday that he is going to attend Penn State for his collegiate career as the Spartans were the runner-ups after a hard-fought recruiting battle. McKenna is a surefire pro, and MSU would have been unstoppable with him.

To make matters even worse for the program, reigning Hobey Baker Award-winning forward Isaac Howard was traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Edmonton Oilers.

Howard was scheduled to come back to East Lansing as his relationship with Tampa was dwindling, but that scenario is void now that Edmonton has signed Howard to a three-year entry-level contract. That means that he will be pursuing his NHL career and will not be returning to MSU this season.

In the blink of an eye, the Spartans were on the precipice of being one of the greatest college hockey teams in recent history, with some of the most elite talent ever seen, to being a fringe top-five team in the country. They are still going to be good, but goodness, losing these two is awful.

The Spartans will have top NHL prospects Ryker Lee, Austin Baker and Cayden Lindstrom entering the program while also bringing back key returners in goaltender Trey Augustine, defenseman Matt Basgall, and others. But it will not be the same team with either Howard or McKenna.

There was a very realistic chance that Howard and McKenna were going to not only lead the Spartans in points and goals, but also the entire nation. Both players are head and shoulders above the rest of the league, as we saw from Howard's dominance in 2024-25.

The only thing that MSU can do now is pivot and put together a strong season without two season-changing players. This team is still skilled enough to compete at the top of the Big Ten and win a national championship, but the outlook from the rest of the nation has definitely declined.

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