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Speculation: Isaac Howard & Tampa's Cap Crunch

bov said:
What is this based on?
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Watching him fumble f***ing the puck around all year, being caught out of position, lazy backchecks, etc. Keefe has called him out in the media for terrible games. He's not trending in the direction of star offensive defenseman like I thought he would have pre draft. Devils have too many right shot D: Hamilton, Pesce, Kovacevic, Casey, Nemec. If the Lightning trade Howard, I'd like Casey or Kovacevic personally, but not sure if the Devils would give up either.
 
Hockeyville USA said:
Watching him fumble f***ing the puck around all year, being caught out of position, lazy backchecks, etc. Keefe has called him out in the media for terrible games. He's not trending in the direction of star offensive defenseman like I thought he would have pre draft. Devils have too many right shot D: Hamilton, Pesce, Kovacevic, Casey, Nemec. If the Lightning trade Howard, I'd like Casey or Kovacevic personally, but not sure if the Devils would give up either.
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That's insanely harsh and impatient. Kid just turned 21, and Devils right side is stacked. "Nemec is ass" will age horribly, couldn't disagree more. Came to NA and put up very respectable numbers as a first time pro, he'll figure it out.
 
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If Im sharks Im offering Dallas first for him, maybe some small add, and try it to make it now and then sign him, if he wants to of course. Playing with either Smith or Celebrini would make any young player hyped
 
So he just has to wait 16 months and become a free agent after the biggest increase ever of the salary cap, and a ton of teams are guaranteed to have cap room?
Also the GM justified trading 2 1sts so they wouldn’t have regrets about not being all in this season, but it’s not clear they even offered to burn a year to carry the Hobey Baker winner on a playoff run, which is the bare minimum effort to sign a NCAA player?
Why would anyone sign?
 
howkie said:
If Im sharks Im offering Dallas first for him, maybe some small add, and try it to make it now and then sign him, if he wants to of course. Playing with either Smith or Celebrini would make any young player hyped
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Howard isn't anything we don't already have in our pool. I'd rather spend the Dallas 1st on a RHD, even if it's a depth guy or long-shot.
 
Zwui21 said:
Having just won the Hobey Baker, I'd say he's earned himself a chance to be tested on the main roster as soon as possible. How many Hobey Baker winners don't jump straight to the NHL but get sent to the AHL?
If I was Howard and saw both Leonard and Buium go straight to the show (not by joining desperate bottom feeders that need all the help they can get btw, but two playoff teams) and I wasn't, I'd be pissed as well.

Also, the AHL rite of passage has been in place because our prospect pool has been garbage (in term of top end talent) for the past 9 years. Obviously if you don't have blue chip prospects but just bottom 6 F and 3rd pair D, you can go that route.
This time is different, yet we decide to stick with this policy instead of being more pragmatic and act based on the possibility that Howard could make the jump to the NHL straight away.

Howard shouldn't be "handed" a roster spot period. But he should be handed the chance to show if he's worth a roster spot in the NHL, just like Leonard and Buium have.
What could possibly be the downside? I'd rather take a chance and "lose" an ELC year, than lose an asset with top line upside.
Scenario 1) You sign him, he's great and you gain a good player for the playoff run + the next two seasons with his ELC.
Scenario 2) You sign him, he's not impactful enough and decide whether to work with him during the summer or to trade him away (while signed to an ELC, being a more valuable asset on the market).
Scenario 3) You don't sign him, you make yourself a very bed publicity for all future NCAA free agents or picks, and then you either trade his unsigned rights away this summer for half his value (especially if he's already signed to commit to Michigan State) or you keep him to try and negociate again with him in April 2026 (with the result of likely losing him for nothing to UFA).

I sure as hell know what scenario I'd rather not go through, but it seems that JBB doesn't feel the same way.
We'll see, but to me how this thing is being handled and how it seems it will play out is just bad asset management.
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Winning a Hobey Baker, while nice, is no sure fire indication of any success in the league. Tampa couldn't have signed him until tomorrow anyway, even by waiving Atkinson. He doesn't deserve any top 6 or playoff time, and if he was to be signed, could have a few bottom 6 minutes the last couple of games.

Maybe JBB didn't want to burn the elc year, or maybe Howard is throwing a fit behind the scenes because he doesn't like the idea that he's likely facing a decent part of next year in Syracuse, as well as this season after the next week (had he been signed). Since no one on here knows what is exactly going on, I just find it funny how so many are saying JBB, a GM that one, hasn't made that many errors in player evaluations and signings, and two, has always been a good cap numbers guy, has somehow "fumbled" or ruined this situation. More than likely, JBB has had multiple discussions with Howard and his camp, and he either feels confident that Howard still wants to be a part of the organization after his career is done at MSU, or he doesn't and his likely talking with multiple teams (or will be) on a trade this summer.

In either case, since Howard remains, as of now, part of the Lightning organization., and there is no animosity between them according to reports, of course Tampa is going to promote and celebrate his accomplishment. In the end, he's a good, but not blue chip top 10 or even 25 prospect league wide, so whether he sons a Bolts sweater next season or Tampa likely gets good value from him in a trade, JBB and the team will move forward with bigger concerns and goals.
 
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BHFAN92 said:
I feel like Chicago and Tampa align perfectly for a deal its just a matter of compensation. Chicago has an abundance of young D man plus 1st rd pick and 2nd rd picks to make this deal happen
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If Tampa decides to trade him, I think Chicago is definitely one of the top teams in terms of what Tampa would be looking to acquire for him. Given Tampa would probably want to add a young dman given their current positional depth, maybe one of Korchinski or Rinzel, with picks added on each side as or if needed, to balance out the deal.
 
I'd do a Nemec for Howard trade. Might even lose long term for NJ but I'd much rather have young blood up front in the middle six than Palat or Haula.
 
JTBF81 said:
If Tampa decides to trade him, I think Chicago is definitely one of the top teams in terms of what Tampa would be looking to acquire for him. Given Tampa would probably want to add a young dman given their current positional depth, maybe one of Korchinski or Rinzel, with picks added on each side as or if needed, to balance out the deal.
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Rinzel is untouchable.
 
I see the Red Wings as an ideal trading partner. Tampa could do with a good defensive prospect for example ASP, Buium, A Johansson or Wallinder (not sure about him) since DRW is unlikely to want a team with only young defenders (They are already icing Seider, Edwinson and A. Johansson) and are rumoured to be in on this off seasons top free agents.

Grabbing a Swedish defenseman is tempting, Hedman is coming of age and he'd be an ideal mentor. If theyd make a trade for a lesser prospect like Johansson, youd assume thaat the Red Wings would add a cheap young roaster player too and that will help Tampa with the cap.
 
Hockeyville USA said:
Watching him fumble f***ing the puck around all year, being caught out of position, lazy backchecks, etc. Keefe has called him out in the media for terrible games. He's not trending in the direction of star offensive defenseman like I thought he would have pre draft. Devils have too many right shot D: Hamilton, Pesce, Kovacevic, Casey, Nemec. If the Lightning trade Howard, I'd like Casey or Kovacevic personally, but not sure if the Devils would give up either.
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You have to accept, at some point, that getting a young defenseman likely means getting a slightly underdeveloped defenseman as well. Nemec fits that bill, based on games played (basically has a season worth of games under his belt over 2 years) and has 22 points across all that, but like most defenders he has about 200-ish more games before really establishing himself. Everything at the AHL level seems to be solid so far.
 
JTBF81 said:
Winning a Hobey Baker, while nice, is no sure fire indication of any success in the league. Tampa couldn't have signed him until tomorrow anyway, even by waiving Atkinson. He doesn't deserve any top 6 or playoff time, and if he was to be signed, could have a few bottom 6 minutes the last couple of games.

Maybe JBB didn't want to burn the elc year, or maybe Howard is throwing a fit behind the scenes because he doesn't like the idea that he's likely facing a decent part of next year in Syracuse, as well as this season after the next week (had he been signed). Since no one on here knows what is exactly going on, I just find it funny how so many are saying JBB, a GM that one, hasn't made that many errors in player evaluations and signings, and two, has always been a good cap numbers guy, has somehow "fumbled" or ruined this situation. More than likely, JBB has had multiple discussions with Howard and his camp, and he either feels confident that Howard still wants to be a part of the organization after his career is done at MSU, or he doesn't and his likely talking with multiple teams (or will be) on a trade this summer.

In either case, since Howard remains, as of now, part of the Lightning organization., and there is no animosity between them according to reports, of course Tampa is going to promote and celebrate his accomplishment. In the end, he's a good, but not blue chip top 10 or even 25 prospect league wide, so whether he sons a Bolts sweater next season or Tampa likely gets good value from him in a trade, JBB and the team will move forward with bigger concerns and goals.
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I think the real disappointment in it all is that he seems to think he has no path forward, and to that I say if you think you can't hack it with this group and make your way in, at least you're being honest with yourself about it. While its easy to look at the Points and Kucherovs and Guentzels of the world/roster here, they're still sending Girgensons out there for meaningful shifts. The team needs affordable depth and he could fit that bill. Careers are fleeting, injuries happen, etc etc. If you need an easier path to the league and guarantees, good luck.

I get not spending a ton of time in Siberacuse, but come to camp and take a job. You can't beat out Cam Atkinson? You can't beat out Zemgus Girgensons? Luke Glendening? Mitchell Chaffee? Come on, man. You would get limited minutes, sure, but you also get sweetheart matchups while the rest of the league tries to figure out how to stop 86.

I think there is another significant thing that maybe hasn't surfaced or showed its face yet and that is teams having to now compete against NIL deals and money while a player walks his way to free agency, which is becoming more common, and teams aren't always a fan of players getting more collective bargaining rights :laugh: I can imagine you'll see some owners complain about this in the next CBA.
 
ExileNZ said:
I see the Red Wings as an ideal trading partner. Tampa could do with a good defensive prospect for example ASP, Buium, A Johansson or Wallinder (not sure about him) since DRW is unlikely to want a team with only young defenders (They are already icing Seider, Edwinson and A. Johansson) and are rumoured to be in on this off seasons top free agents.

Grabbing a Swedish defenseman is tempting, Hedman is coming of age and he'd be an ideal mentor. If theyd make a trade for a lesser prospect like Johansson, youd assume thaat the Red Wings would add a cheap young roaster player too and that will help Tampa with the cap.
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Lmao wings aren’t trading asp
 
-Make less money, play in Syracuse, hope Tampa has a spot for you.
-Make more money, play and live in a college environment, pick your team in a year.

It's not complicated.

Super lame that NHL GM's can trade, bury, and waiver wire guys every year and it's "just a business" but the second the situation is flipped and a player uses some of the little leverage they possess it becomes an attack on their character and they're "entitled."
 
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mphmiles said:
-Make less money, play in Syracuse, hope Tampa has a spot for you.
-Make more money, play and live in a college environment, pick your team in a year.

It's not complicated.

Super lame that NHL GM's can trade, bury, and waiver wire guys every year and it's "just a business" but the second the situation is flipped and a player uses some of the little leverage they possess it becomes an attack on their character and they're "entitled."
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I would say I'm pretty adamantly pro-player over pro-ownership group but this perspective is so odd to me, being assigned to an AHL team isn't a death sentence and it's incredibly likely that Howard plays in the A when he leaves college no matter where he goes.

I don't blame Howard for doing what's best for him, but if it really comes down to "If I don't get a guaranteed roster spot next season I'm not signing" then how is that anything but entitlement?
 
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