‘Many people around the league’ thought Oilers had trade done with Lightning to acquire Issac Howard

They thought the deal was done, but it turns out the Edmonton Oilers didn’t do enough in the eyes of the Tampa Bay Lightning for them to give up the rights to unsigned prospect Isaac Howard.

The Hobey Baker winner’s name has been in the rumour mill for weeks with word coming out that the 21-year-old, who was drafted by the Lightning 31st overall in the 2022 draft, wouldn’t sign with the Bolts.

Howard, a left-shot, left-winger that stands at 5’11”, 190 lbs., had a tremendous season with the NCAA’s Michigan State University last year, scoring 26 goals and 52 points in 37 games, earning him the Baker.

And during a radio hit with Sports 1440’s Kevin Karius Wednesday morning, hockey insider Frank Seravalli said the Oilers thought they had a deal in place to acquire Howard for a late first-round pick:

“There’s many people around the league that thought that the Oilers were getting Isaac Howard. I think even people close to Isaac Howard thought that he was going to Edmonton. I don’t know exactly what the Tampa Bay Lightning are thinking. The Oilers, to my understanding, had told Tampa that they could and would do a late first-round pick in exchange for Howard’s rights, and that apparently wasn’t good enough. Again, there’s a clock ticking to this. If they lose Howard’s rights if he doesn’t sign next August, they’re going to get a late second-round compensatory pick. So if you’re Julien BriseBois, you want to do a lot better than that, right? And I don’t know why a late first, because that’s what Howard was to begin with, doesn’t just square you off and make you whole, but it seems like the arrogance of the Tampa Bay Lightning are what’s gotten in the way with this player.”

The Oilers don’t have their 2026 first-round pick after trading it to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for defenceman Jake Walman, so the reported pick must have been their 2027 first, which they still hold possession of. Howard’s signing rights expire on August 15th, 2026, and as Seravalli wrote last week, Howard’s rights will only become less valuable the closer to that date a decision gets.

Howard just finished his third year of college hockey, his first was played at the University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2022-23, when he scored six goals and 17 points in 35 games, before transferring to Michigan State, where in 2023-24, he put up eight goals and 36 points in 36 games. This year saw an offensive explosion for Howard, indicating he might be ready to jump into the pro game sooner rather than later.