The Montreal Canadiens are on the verge of signing Alex Newhook to a new contract.
According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, perhaps the top insider in the game of hockey right now, the Canadiens and Newhook are about to ink a four-year contract. He adds the contract will have an average annual value of $2.9 million.
Newhook was acquired days ahead of the 2023 NHL Draft for the 31st and 37th overall picks. He played the first three seasons of his NHL career with the Colorado Avalanche after being selected 16th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Hearing newly-acquired Alex Newhook will sign a four-year, $2.9M AAV extension with the Montreal Canadiens
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 11, 2023
The 22 year old forward scored 14 goals and 30 points in 82 games for the Avalanche last season. He had a career high 33 points the previous season and played just six NHL games in 2020-21 after finishing his college career at Boston College. The St. John’s, Newfoundland native has also played a total of 18 AHL games in his career where he has scored nine goals and 20 points.
The Canadiens are taking a similar risk with Newhook that they did with Kirby Dach a year ago. The Habs acquired Dach at the 2022 NHL Draft and signed him to a four-year contract with a cap hit of $3,362,500. His best season at that point was a 26 point campaign in 2021-22 but he had 38 points in 58 games during his first season with the Canadiens.
The Canadiens made it official minutes after Friedman’s report with their own announcement of the signing.
The Canadiens agree to terms on a four-year contract (2023-24 to 2026-27) with forward Alex Newhook.#GoHabsGo https://t.co/XT5NRb0rvw
— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) July 11, 2023
Newhook is just 22 years old and would barely have to improve his mediocre production to date for this contract to be fair. He has blazing speed and great skill and has the potential to make this contract look like a steal by Christmas of this year.
There is very little risk to this contract for the Canadiens and a ton of possible reward if Newhook can find some of the scoring touch he has shown at every level below the NHL.
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