Sunday night was an important loss for the Montreal Canadiens. With Arizona and Ottawa both winning their respective matchups, a zero-point night would place them in fifth-last, significantly improving their draft lottery odds. Since they were visiting the current kings of the East in the New York Rangers, on the second half of a back-to-back no less, that loss wasn’t hard to come by. Brighter days will surely be ahead for the Habs with the strong possibility of another top-five pick now within their grasp.
And it surely won’t hurt their search for brighter days in having players like Alex Newhook, currently having the best season of his career in his first year with the Habs.
This goal was Newhook’s 30th point of the season, matching his total from last season with Colorado, but doing so in 32 fewer games. If he can register four more points in the remaining five games, he’ll also eclipse his career-mark of 33 points in 71 games set during the 2021-22 season. Even if he doesn’t manage to set a new personal best, the fact that he’s right there with so fewer games is impressive, and likely has Kent Hughes feeling pretty good about his acquisition.
These types of acquisitions have been a significant part of Hughes’s modus operandi – players who are in their early twenties, and perhaps undervalued by their current teams. The early returns on Newhook and Kirby Dach, notwithstanding injuries of course, suggest that this strategy may pay off handsomely for him in the next couple of years. As it stands, both Newhook and Dach are easily penciled in on the second line for next year, and there is plenty of reasonable excitement about how much damage that line could do.
For Newhook’s part, he’s been the glue that has held the second line together ever since returning from injury. He’s been a big part of Joel Armia’s resurgence, and the line seems to continue having success regardless of who they place on his wings. Most seem to agree that Newhook is best served returning to the wing, so his recent play could just be the tip of the iceberg, and he might really break out when he’s eventually reunited with Dach, perhaps with Joshua Roy as their other winger.
Newhook was somewhat buried on a talent-laden Colorado Avalanche roster, and Hughes essentially made a bet that he had something more to unlock with more opportunity. Despite an injury limiting his time, he’s put forth arguably the best season of his career, and given reason to believe that he’s still just finding his ceiling.
It is decidedly too early to call the trade a clear win for Montreal, but if Newhook keeps heading down the path he is, he’ll eventually prove Hughes right.
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