Lightning GM Julien BriseBois Makes Admission About Top Prospect Isaac Howard

NHL News: Tampa Bay Lightning GM Julien BriseBois this week to make a bold admission, that it is 'unlikely' that Howard will sign with the team

Three weeks ago, 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard made a huge decision about his future, deciding to return to return to Michigan State for his senior season. The Tampa Bay Lightning, who drafted him in the first round of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft (#31 overall) know that he can become a free agent on August 15th, 2026 if he is still unsigned.

That has left Bolts GM Julien BriseBois this week to make a bold and honest admission, that it is "unlikely" that Howard will be a Tampa Bay Lightning.

BREAKING NEWS #TBLightning GM Julien BriseBois says that is is “unlikely” that Isaac Howard signs with the Bolts

I asked him if that was a bit of surprise because he seemed optimistic in the middle of the season and he said he was

Wow. #GoBolts #NHL pic.twitter.com/PHHAZ70jSa
— Jay Recher (@jayRecher) May 2, 2025

“When I chatted with Isaac, he was pretty candid," said Brisebois, "and I appreciated his honesty and I thank him for his honesty. He values the opportunity to choose the club that he believes is the best fit for him. And I won't speak for him, but he values that. Right now, I would say it's unlikely that we will sign him.”

What are the Lightning's options with Isaac Howard?

That leaves only two options: trade his rights to a team that feels they can sign him, or he just plays out the string and becomes a free agent to sign anywhere on Aug. 15th, 2026.

Insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last month that "word in NCAA circles is the (Lightning) and Howard weren’t simpatico on where everything stood at this time". He has since added that "Basically, what I was told, because nobody really wanted to get into mud slinging, they just didn't see eye to eye ... Whatever the path Howard saw and the path the Lightning saw, it didn't line up."

Which can be translated, according to other reports, as the likelihood that if Howard was to sign his entry-level deal this spring, he would have wanted to report immediately to Tampa for their playoff push (which has since ended, in a five-game loss in the first round to the Florida Panthers). The Lightning, however, did not have the cap space to make that happen, nor could they commit to a guaranteed role for the 21-year-old.