Penguins Have Prime Opportunity To Target Lightning's Top Forward Prospect

On Saturday, news about the potential departure of the Tampa Bay Lightning's top prospect from the organization became one step closer to being confirmed.

According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, Lightning top forward prospect Isaac Howard's relationship with the organization is "over", which will lead to an eventual trade. He also mentioned that several teams are interested in the 21-year-old winger's services.

And - if they're smart - the Pittsburgh Penguins should be one of those teams.

Howard was the recipient of the Hobey Baker Award for 2024-25, which recognizes the top player in college hockey. In 37 games with Michigan State University (MSU) this season, he registered 26 goals and 52 points to along with a plus-19.On the surface, this is a situation much like the one with Rutger McGroarty last summer, when the Penguins jumped on the opportunity to acquire a collegiate player who wanted a change of scenery from the organization that drafted him. It cost them their own top forward prospect in Brayden Yager, but they ended up - more than likely - getting the better prospect out of the deal, and, certainly, the more NHL-ready one.

Pittsburgh Penguins made one of the most newsworthy trades of the summer when they acquired top forward prospect Rutger McGroarty from the Winnipeg Jets.

But Howard may not cost as much as McGroarty. If the Bolts don't deal Howard by Aug. 15, 2026, they receive a compensary second-round pick. Teams are aware of that, and they may be willing to wait things out until the price comes down a bit.

Since there are other teams interested, however, Howard figures to command around "first-round pick value" or "second-rounder and prospect" value. Both of which the Penguins could provide, with the latter obviously being the preference. They'd have to outbid others, but for a player like Howard, throwing in an extra asset or two might just be worth it.

All in all, Kyle Dubas and the Penguins should be calling on Howard. And - if all goes according to plan - maybe he'll join his old buddy from a rival Michigan school in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins are currently retooling their roster as they look to become a playoff team again. Because of this, the Metropolitan Division club will be hoping that some of their young players will take a notable step forward in their development next season.