- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 410,089
- Reaction score
- 43
You must be registered for see images attach
Tampa Bay Lightning first round draft pick Isaac Howard was awarded the Hobey Baker Award on Friday, as the top player in NCAA hockey for the 2024-25 season.
Earlier this week, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reported that Howard would not be signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning and was expected to remain at Michigan State for his senior year. Under the NHL and NHLPA CBA, teams hold the rights to drafted NCAA prospects for four seasons. The Lightning drafted Howard in the first round, 31st overall of the 2022 NHL draft, meaning that if he decides to play his senior year, he will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15, 2026.
Friedman also reported being told that with the NIL money expected to be available to Howard, he would be earning more by staying in college than in the American Hockey League.
Historically, the Lightning organization has chosen a merit-based method when it comes to the Syracuse to Tampa development pipeline. Current rostered players that spent time with the Syracuse Crunch include; Gage Goncalves, Mitchell Chaffee, Darren Raddysh, Emil Lilleberg, and Nick Perbix. All will see ice time in the playoffs.
“I just feel like with me and Tampa, I guess we didn’t see eye to eye the same way I thought we would,” Howard told the Spittin' Chiclets podcast on Friday. “It wasn’t a situation where I was demanding to step right into the NHL, it wasn’t anything like that... It just didn’t necessarily work out and coming back to Michigan State is unreal.”
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois has always been relentless in his pursuit of winning another Stanley Cup, often having to say goodbye to some of their most notable, Stanley Cup-winning players over the years in order to build the best team possible.
“I was told, because nobody really wanted to get into mud slinging, they just didn't see eye to eye, whether it was burning a year or his spot in the organization, or on the roster," Friedman said on Friday. "It just wasn't there, that whatever the path Howard saw and the path the Lightning saw, it didn't line up with each other.”
Howard led all NCAA players in scoring this season with 52 points and was tied for third in goals with 26.
Continue reading...
