Isaac Howard to Detroit? Why the Red Wings Should Acquire Tampa's Rising Star

The Detroit Red Wings should consider adding the Michigan State Spartan forward Isaac Howard, and Hobey Baker Award winner. While he won't be a free agent this season, the Tampa Bay Lightning have fumbled one of their top prospects in Isaac Howard.

With GM Julien BrisBois' official words that they're unlikely to sign him ending up on X, this is the perfect time for Yzerman to pounce and prove he's committed to rebuilding with the best players available.

Of course, you could see from the Lightning's lack of action that this would be the next step as the team doesn't have the cap space to make it work, and will instead have to accept the fact that they'll lose him in the future.

The forward is already in an advantageous spot, in East Lansing, and the former Spartan player could easily make the drive from MSU to Detroit.

The drive is only 90 minutes, and since he already calls Trey Augustine his teammate, maybe, just maybe, Yzerman should tap into this.

Howard was a 31st overall pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022, and they haven't been able to select a player in the 1st-round in five years beforehand.

Howard's a player whom Bob Mackenzie projected to go 20th in the draft was instead a bargain pick for the Lightning, as Howard has great playmaking abilities and stick-handling skills you need as a highly skilled, offensive winger in the NHL.

He'd join the University of Minnesota-Duluth in his freshman season in the NCAA, and would score 17 points in 35 games. Following that year, he'd transfer to the Michigan State Spartans, where his game took off, winning the Hobey Baker Award as a Junior.

His production would skyrocket with the Spartans, scoring 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 2024-2025. His career totals with MSU show how much he's developed in his short time there, 88 points (34 goals, 54 assists) in 73 games, and he should be a player on Yzerman's radar.

Howard could slot in as a top-six winger on a team whose turning over the roster to the youth movement. He could be considered NHL-ready, should the Red Wings be one of 31 teams that signs him.

As a fledgling winger, he could complement the Red Wings' top line, which consists of Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin. A line that won't always have Patrick Kane on the right.