The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Isaac Howard from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for prospect Sam O’Reilly.
The deal brings the reigning Hobey Baker award winner to the Western Conference champions, while Tampa Bay acquires the 32nd overall pick from the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Tampa and Howard had been in discussions on his entry level contract for some time now, with neither side able to come to an agreement.
With Howard’s rights ready to expire, the Lightning felt the need to recoup some assets for the Michigan State star. The 21 year old was selected by the Lightning with the 31st overall pick in the 2022 draft. He spent two seasons with the Spartans, finishing with 88 points (34G, 54A) across 73 games.
“That’s why I was so excited about this fit… It’s such a high-paced, skilled, fast, work-ethic first team. I think that’s exactly my game,” Howard told reporters following news of the deal. According to reports, GM Stan Bowman had been working on this trade for weeks. Howard finished 3rd in NCAA goals last season, and led the Nation in P/PG (1.41).
The 19-year-old O’Reilly appeared in 62 regular-season games with the London Knights tallying 28 goals and 71 points. The Toronto native finished the OHL playoffs with seven goals and 22 points across 17 games to help the Knights win the 3rd Memorial Cup in franchise history.
Photo: Sandro Halank. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.