On today’s rendition of 32 Thoughts by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL insider touched on the ongoing situation between the Tampa Bay Lightning and prospect Isaac Howard. The product of Michigan State University has already announced he’ll return to the Spartans’ program for the 2025-26 NCAA season, and there’s no guarantee he’ll ever wear a Lightning uniform.
Friedman indicates there’s no bad blood between the Lightning and their top prospect, but the odds are against them signing him to an entry-level contract. As Friedman puts it, Howard will play through his final year of eligibility at Michigan State and become an unrestricted free agent on August 15, 2026. The Hobey Baker Award finalist would quickly become one of the highest-profile collegiate free agents in recent memory.
Howard is unlikely to sign with Tampa Bay partly due to the organization’s preferred usage of him. The plan was for Howard to play in the AHL for the 2025-26 season, and the collegiate standout has indicated he’d make more in NIL money in East Lansing than he would on an AHL salary. Friedman hinted that Lightning General Manager Julien BriseBois could look to trade Howard at the 2025 NHL Draft, with plenty of teams likely having an interest.
More notes from Tampa Bay:
- According to Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times, the Lightning will have winger Jake Guentzel back tonight for their intra-divisional contest against the Detroit Red Wings. Guentzel had missed Tampa Bay’s most recent contest because of personal reasons, and it appears he’s at a point in his life off the ice where he can return. Fortunately, that’s only one of two games Guentzel has missed for the Lightning this season, scoring 38 goals and 77 points in 76 games.
- Unfortunately, there is one Tampa Bay forward who won’t be available to the team for their remaining regular season contests. Lightning insider Erik Erlendsson reported earlier that Luke Glendening, who’s out with an undisclosed injury, is out for the rest of the regular season, although the Lightning are hopeful he’ll return for the postseason. Glendening will finish the 2024-25 season with four goals and seven points in 77 contests with a customarily high 57.0% success rate in the faceoff circle.
For a junior, high school or European player, in order to become free agents…they have to sit at home and twiddle their thumbs for a year or two, at least.
Until now, college players could just stay in college and then saunter to UFA status.
NOW, they can just stay in college, collect NIL money on top of it and then saunter to UFA status.
It’s terrible for the teams, stupid for the league and unfair to all of the other players.
I am confused. Now people can get paid for their labor and then choose where to work and that’s bad?
From the perspective of the National Hockey League and the teams involved, yes, that’s pretty bad. A team’s draft choice feels no loyalty to the team that picked him whatsoever (Cutter Gauthier and Rutger McGroarty, for recent examples), but at least it’s understandable–players have preferences where to play for (or lack thereof), and that manifests itself in the draft.
But for the player to have no objection to the team in and of itself, and simply choose to stay in college for the financial upside AND have his signing rights expire in the meantime is very, very bad for the team that drafted him and (obviously) for the NHL on the whole. It’s a real issue if left unaddressed–it’s unrealistic to expect the player to take a lower salary to leave college for the team’s AHL affiliate. Either the AHL salaries will need to be raised, NIL money limited or the NHL’s CBA rewritten (to address the signing rights expiration issue).
They are free to work at Walmart if they don’t like the draft, right?
Drafts and contract rights are what keep pro sports competitive and thus successful.
No need to apply at Walmart when they can choose who to work for and where to live if they play their cards correctly. Now, like non-athlete college kids, some hockey players are taking control of their future. The idea it tweaks a bunch of you is a bonus.
As weird as this may be I understand both sides here. From Isaac Howard’s perspective, it makes sense financially in what he’s saying. From Tampa’s perspective, it makes sense for them wanting Howard to spend a year in the AHL to gain professional game experience before moving up to the NHL.
If I’m GM Julien BriseBois, I would move Howard & get the biggest haul in return during the offseason. Tampa will definitely get a rich deal of assets for Howard & even more so, if he wins the Hobey Baker Award. It may actually turnout to benefit Tampa more in moving Howard rather than keeping him. It will be interesting how it plays out this summer. I will say Howard is blowing a big opportunity to potentially play for one of the top organizations in the NHL as many top prospects would kill to join Tampa.
Great to see Jake Guentzel return as they missed in the last game. I hope Luke Glendening can get healthy & be ready for the playoffs.