Lightning Trade Michigan State's Isaac Howard

Hours after top NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna announced his commitment to Penn State, the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Michigan State star forward Isaac Howard.

Michigan State's Isaac Howard celebrates his goal against Notre Dame during the third period in the Big Ten tournament on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Muni Arena in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan State fans didn't have much reason for concern when it was reported that top NHL prospect Gavin McKenna would be committing to Penn State, but now, they're going to feel quite uneasy with news regarding star forward Isaac Howard.

Howard, the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner, decided to return for another season at Michigan State after not being on the same page with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who selected him with the 31st overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.

On Tuesday, hours after McKenna announced his commitment on ESPN, the Edmonton Oilers and Lightning announced that Howard has been traded to Edmonton for forward Sam O'Reilly. Per Edmonton, it signed Howard to a three-year entry-level contract.

We have acquired forward Sam O’Reilly from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for forward Isaac Howard.

📝: https://t.co/Ep9WBQ2h9O pic.twitter.com/YwKcwBOlab

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) July 9, 2025

🚨 TRADE ALERT 🚨

The #Oilers have acquired forward Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Sam O'Reilly. We have also signed Howard to a three-year entry-level contract. pic.twitter.com/k3UHkpv6Ik

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 9, 2025

After initially deciding to spend another season in East Lansing, Howard is moving on to the NHL.

"I think I get the unique opportunity to be back here and chase that national championship," Howard said back in April. "I think we're going to have such a loaded roster with so much talent. And having that ability to come back and just be grounded here and be trying my best to win a national championship."

" ... I think we're big-time ready to go. That's the ultimate goal, and I think when you get a group of guys that can fully buy in, I think we're going to see something special, and we'll definitely be ready to go."

While Howard had aspirations of winning a national title, it's likely that his goals aligned with Edmonton, unlike they did with Tampa Bay.

"I don't want to get into it too much, I just feel like with me and Tampa, we didn't see eye-to-eye the same way as I thought maybe we would," Howard said when he joined Barstool Sports' "Spittin Chiclets" podcast.

"It wasn't a situation where I was demanding to step right into the NHL, it wasn't anything like that, but it just didn't necessarily work out."

Michigan State had been in a great position to achieve its goal of winning a national title, even after missing out on McKenna. Losing Howard changes things.

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