Former 1st round pick terminates his own contract

After a disagreement with Vasterviks IK's management on how he was going to be deployed this season, Howden decided to terminate his deal and will now search elsewhere for a place to play for the 2023-24 season.

Howden, who was selected 25th overall in 2010, has been out of the NHL since 2017. Since then he has made stops in Belarus, Russia, Sweden, Germany, Finland and France in recent years.

The native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, split time last season between Jukurit in Liiga and Grenoble in the French league. With Jukurit, Howden had 1 assist in 10 games, while with Grenoble, he managed to put up 8 points in 16 regular season games, as well as 3 points in 12 playoff games.

It's unclear where Howden will go next, but the expectation is that he will stay in Europe for the season. The 2023-24 season is set to begin in many of the major European leagues in the coming days, so we could see him pop up with a new team very soon.