Red Wings Should Pursue Tampa Bay Lightning’s Isaac Howard

This was already widely speculated when Howard did not sign an ELC with the Lightning when Michigan State University’s season came to an end. Now we have it straight from the GM’s mouth, and naturally speculation over where the young forward will end up has already begun.

After completing his first season with the Michigan State Spartans, it is pretty easy to draw a line that leads Howard from East Lansing to Detroit – after all, it’s only about a 90-minute drive east. The Detroit Red Wings have a few prospects of their own that currently call Howard their teammate, and the Red Wings may very well be the most natural fit for the up and coming forward.

Isaac Howard Profile

Make no mistake about it: the Lightning are incurring a great loss by not coming to terms with Howard. Drafted 31st overall, he is their only first round selection in the last five years – and he was considered a bit of a steal at the time because several pre-draft rankings had him ranked in the early 20s (including TSN’s Bob McKenzie who had him ranked 20th a week before the draft.) Howard profiled as a skilled, offensive winger with great stickhandling abilities and a knack for creating scoring opportunities.

In the years following the 2022 draft, Howard developed his skills at the collegiate level. He spent the 2022-23 season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, totaling six goals and 17 points in 35 games as a freshman. Following that season, he transferred to Michigan State and spent the last two seasons sporting the Spartans’ green and white. After taking his production up a notch in his sophomore season, he won the Hobey Baker Award, given to college hockey’s top player, this season as a junior.

Across 73 games with the Spartans, Howard has 34 goals and 88 points, including 26 goals and 52 points this season. He rediscovered his ability to put the puck in the net this season, and that’s a terrifying thought for collegiate defenders as he is currently expected to re-join the Spartans for his senior season. He skates well, he competes hard, and he relishes the opportunity to be the focal point of his team’s offense.

Sounds like the type of player the Red Wings should be all over, right?

Howard’s Fit with the Red Wings

With his dynamic offensive abilities, Howard projects as a top six winger in the NHL that should also play meaningful time on the power play. Realistically, there could be 31 teams that call the Lightning about him as he would instantly become a top prospect for any team that acquires him.

The Red Wings are in the process of handing their team over to the next generation. Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper, Albert Johansson and Elmer Söderblom all joined the team in Detroit in a full-time capacity this season. With Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond already in place, the Red Wings have steadily assembled a solid group of young talent on the NHL roster, and it feels like they could add at least two or three more names to that list next season.

Howard would join that group that is knocking on the NHL’s door if acquired by the Red Wings. Detroit’s offensive struggles at five-on-five were well publicized this season, and a player with his offensive ceiling could help push those numbers in the right direction. In fact, even though he is currently expected to continue on with the Spartans next season, he may forgo that opportunity and go pro instead if the right organization acquires him.

Could Howard Pick the Red Wings?

Over the course of their rebuild, Yzerman has been able to assemble a deep pool of prospects, two of which happen to already call Howard their teammate. Red Savage, the Spartans’ captain this season, and Trey Augustine, the team’s starting goaltender, are both Red Wings prospects. Savage was a fourth round pick back in 2021 while Augustine was a second round pick in 2023. Both have been teammates with Howard since he joined the Spartans, and both have likely spoken with him about their experience in the Red Wings organization.

Assuming they have good things to say – no signs suggest otherwise – Howard may be enticed by the opportunity to join his teammates and an up and coming core of players he could grow with. As a Wisconsin-native, Michigan is close to home and has been home to some of his greatest hockey memories. If all of this is enough of a pull for him, the Red Wings may be at or near the top of list of preferred destinations – and it does seem like there is a list.

“When I chatted with Isaac, he was really candid and I appreciated his honesty and I thanked him for his honesty,” BriseBois told the media. “He values the opportunity to choose the club he believes is the best fit for him.”

That last bit is the standout comment here. While Howard and the Lightning were unable to see eye-to-eye, the player seems to have some idea of where he would like to play and where the best fit for him is. The situation could be somewhat similar to that of New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox.

Fox, originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in 2016, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in 2018 when it was clear he wouldn’t be signing with the Flames. Almost a year later, when it was clear there was a specific team he wanted to play for, the Hurricanes were able to squeeze some value out of him by sending him to the Rangers in exchange for some draft picks. He then signed his ELC with the Rangers and has been there ever since.

There are no reports indicating that Howard is that dead-set on a specific team, but it sure seems like he at least has a specific situation in mind. It’s not about jumping straight into the NHL either, as he mentioned in a recent interview.

“It wasn’t a situation where I was demanding to step right into the NHL. It wasn’t anything like that,” Howard stated while explaining where the rift between him and the Lightning came from. He is not averse to spending time in the American Hockey League (AHL), so he must not have liked Tampa Bay’s plan for him and/or the financial compensation they prepared for him.

The Rangers and the Boston Bruins are teams to watch, but the Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks stand out because they are close to home, both have young, up and coming rosters, and Howard has teammates in both organizations. That isn’t an exhaustive list by any means – the Minnesota Wild and the Nashville Predators stand out as possible fits as well – but if he already has an idea of where he wants to end up, the list probably isn’t very long.

The only question left, then, is how much it will cost to take him off of the Lightning’s hands.

Cost?

The public nature of this situation does not play in Tampa Bay’s favor. Despite Fox’s quality as a prospect, the Hurricanes were “only” able to get a second and a third round pick in return when they sent him to the Rangers because it was well-established the player wanted to be a Ranger by that point. Honestly it’s kind of incredible they were able to get THAT much for him given the circumstance.

If Howard has one team he wants to go to, the Lightning may very well find themselves in a similar situation. If they simply hold onto him until the end of next season and allow him to walk in free agency, they will automatically receive a compensatory second round pick in the 2027 draft. This is the baseline for any trade BriseBois tries to orchestrate, and it’s why the return in the Fox trade all those years ago could prove to be a template for what happens with Howard.

Unless a full-blown bidding war erupts, the Red Wings should see an opportunity to add a premium prospect at a not-so-premium price. Yzerman and BriseBois have a relationship that goes back over a decade and have found ways to help each other out since Yzerman departed the Lightning for the Red Wings in 2019. This, along with Howard’s familiarity with Michigan and, assumingly, the Red Wings organization, is why Yzerman should have a good shot at landing this player.

If a second and a deferred third round pick is enough to get the deal done, it’s a deal worth considering if you are Yzerman and the Red Wings. Howard is a former first-round pick that seems to be living up to that billing, and the fact he isn’t reluctant to spend some time in the AHL should be music to Yzerman’s ears given how the organization has handled their top young players during his tenure. In fact, if the Red Wings do acquire him, he may sign an ELC right away with the expectation being that he begins next season in the AHL and works his way up to the NHL.

The Red Wings are looking to put the finishing touches on their rebuild, and this is the type of opportunity that only presents itself once every so often. There is a lot of chatter going on right now about the moves Detroit could make in the free agent market to improve their playoff chances next season, but outside of the draft, this may be the Red Wings’ best opportunity to add high-end talent to their organization. Detroit should be at or near the front of the line to acquire Howard’s services.