Lightning and Oilers Complete Rare Prospect-for-Prospect Trade
Photo credit: Hockey Patrol
The NHL saw a rare occurrence happen on Tuesday night, as the Tampa Bay Lightning and Edmonton Oilers exchanged two top-level prospects: Isaac Howard and Sam O'Reilly.
With the NHL offseason taking a bit of a slumber in recent days, both the Edmonton Oilers and Tampa Bay Lightning decided to pull off a blockbuster deal involving prospects Isaac Howard and Sam O'Reilly.
Quick overview of the Isaac Howard and Sam O'Reilly trade
Howard is a former recipient of the Hobey Baker Award, given to the NCAA's most outstanding player; he was drafted 31st overall by the Lightning in 2022, but had not signed a contract with the team yet.
O'Reilly was Edmonton's 32nd overall pick in the 2024 Draft, finding a ton of success in Junior hockey, winning back-to-back OHL Championships with the London Knights, and capped off this season with a Memorial Cup victory.
It's a simple, albeit rare swap of former first-round selections, as both men look to get their careers off on the right foot.
What makes this trade substantial?
Well, for starters, it swaps two very highly touted prospects and gives Howard a new lease on a career after clearly having a falling out with Tampa.
The former Michigan State Spartan had a fantastic 2024-25 season, recording 52 points in 37 games (26 goals, 26 assists) and a plus-19 rating.
Winning the Hobey Baker, he joins other standouts such as Macklin Celebrini, Cale Makar, Jack Eichel and even legends like Paul Kariya.
Edmonton gains one of the most exciting college players over the past couple of years, and with Connor McDavid around; who knows the type of progress Howard can make.
Also, according to NHL Insider Frank Seravalli, the Oilers not only think highly of Howard; but he's ready to make the leap already:
Oilers believe Isaac Howard is ready to enter NHL immediately - signed out of
MSU Hockey and be in Edmonton's opening night lineup.
Fascinating trade. Depending on who you trust, some scouts think O'Reilly is the better long-term prospect. Howard is NHL ready now.
MSU Hockey and be in Edmonton's opening night lineup.
Fascinating trade. Depending on who you trust, some scouts think O'Reilly is the better long-term prospect. Howard is NHL ready now.
O'Reilly on the other hand heads to the Lightning and a division with some familiarity; regarding the AHL at least.
If he skates with the Syracuse Crunch this season, he'll likely end up facing former London Knights teammates Easton Cowan and Landon Sim of the Toronto Marlies; in the same division as the Crunch.
In 130 games for the London Knights, he scored 127 points (48 goals, 79 assists) while adding 34 points in 33 playoff games (12 goals, 22 assists).
Though there's still quite the journey for both players to make it to the NHL, there's no denying that both Howard and O'Reilly are ready for whatever their new teams decide to throw at them.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 8 | 1987 ANSWERS Lightning and Oilers Complete Rare Prospect-for-Prospect Trade Who won the exchange of prospects? | ||
| Tampa Bay | 906 | 45.6 % |
| Edmonton | 1081 | 54.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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