Could Kent Hughes swoop in - with Isaac Howard unlikely to sign with Tampa Bay - and strike a deal?

Those darn Tampa Bay Lightning, it would be a shame if a certain Montreal Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes took a swing on their top prospect Isaac Howard.

Julien Brisebois’s 2022 31st overall pick, decided to play his senior season in the NCAA with Michigan State University, and at the end of the 2025-26 season, Howard can create a bidding war between NHL clubs, as a free agent. 

The fear for Tampa is that he won’t sign his deal, and his decision warrants those thoughts. Also curious about Tampa, they don’t have a first-round draft pick for the next three drafts. And they could lose the Hobey Baker winner for nothing.

I think a trade at the draft, if Howard approves to sign with the trade partner could materialize. For Tampa, adding a first-round pick or two could be huge. Montreal has two firsts and plenty of prospects to dangle in a potential trade.

This is all assuming that Hughes is interested in Howard - who was a favourite for the Hobey Baker - after the junior scored 26-26-52 in 37 games this season. Howard is a six-foot tall, 190-pound left-shot left winger, who hails from Hudson, Wisconsin. 

Surely his neighbour from Mosinee, WI (Cole Caufield) could help him acclimate to Montreal. Montreal could use a second-line centre, and a top-four right defenseman (unless David Reinbacher makes the Habs). But adding a first-round draft prospect to the fold, especially at forward, would elevate the Habs forwards significantly.

With Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovsky on the top line, I think Howard could be a nice option in the future with Ivan Demidov and Michael Hage. If Patrik Laine decides to sign elsewhere or gets dangled in a trade, Howard has all the potential to develop into Laine’s replacement. 

I can’t think of a more poetic storyline than Howard signing with Montreal next year, after getting acquired at this year’s draft. I still remember Nikita Kucherov’s Stanley Cup celebrations and his chirps to Montreal - oh how the tables could turn. 

We also have Demidov, who can exchange some pleasantries in his native tongue with his countrymen (No. 86 in Tampa). 

But back to Howard - what would he bring to the Canadiens you ask? 

So, about Howard?

Howard, who was drafted 30 picks after Juraj Slafkovsky, and 31 before Lane Hutson in 2022, obviously fits into the Habs vision.

If the Habs want to extract full value from their draft picks, getting Howard before next year's playoffs via trade at this year’s draft could be much better for the team than drafting in the 20s. 

Hughes could consider that Howard is going to be 22, and his development has brought him to NHL-ready. 

Is there another forward in the draft, after the top five that is better than Howard? That’s up to Kent to assess. 

Tampa needs young talent, and they need to pivot if Howard isn’t going to sign - bringing in a trade haul is the wisest decision - Montreal is loaded with pieces to put together exactly that, a big haul.

I wrote about Howard recently, saying that they missed on him for Filip Mesar at pick 26 in ‘22. But a full-circle moment would be getting Howard, and perhaps moving Mesar in the package that does it.

Howard can be best described as a brilliant skater - technically, and strength/agility - who possesses an impressive offensive toolkit - processor, vision, puck skills, stickhandling. And his shot is great - he can change up the angles on goalies - thanks to a highly-deceptive release. 

This sounds like exactly the kind of player Hughes should be considering for the Habs, and Brisebois should be doing his due diligence to find a deal. 

Moreso at the draft, but you get the idea, this could maximize the Habs competitive window, right at the start, and Hage and Jacob Fowler will be in Montreal soon too.