Two seasons ago, Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Newhook had the best statistical season of his career.
He recorded a total of 34 points, which included 15 goals and 19 assists. The former metric marked a career-high (one that was matched just one year later), while the latter was his second-highest tally, falling just behind a 20-assist tally during the 2021-22 campaign.
While his +/- rating ultimately ended up being a -11, Newhook also recorded his highest average time on ice metric during that 2023-24 campaign. His 16:56 minutes played per game wound up being two minutes longer than his next-best time on ice metric.
But since that 2023-24 campaign, Newhook's numbers took a dive. The 2024-25 campaign saw him record just 26 points (15 goals and 11 assists), and this most recent campaign saw him record just 25 points (13 goals and 12 assists).
But a closer look helps to eliminate the worry stemming from the decline in points
While the point-scoring metrics are the most obvious indicators of a player's ability to provide his team the goal-scoring support required to win games, it's also important to examine a player's overall value. In that, it's possible to observe that Newhook is still an important piece of the Habs' offense.
Newhook's +/- rating was a horrendous -21 during the 2024-25 campaign, but the St John's native did well to address that during the 2025-26 season. An overall increased offensive impact raised his rating by 30 points, taking him to a +9 at season's end.
Such value is further reinforced by the fact that his total penalty minutes were more than halved from 2024-25 to 2025-26. That said, his value on the special teams side of things didn't really change that much; while his power play goals tally doubled, his power play assists count went down from four to three. And for the sixth time in as many seasons, Newhook failed to register a short-handed goal or point.
Returning to the positive side of things, Newhook's ability to have the clutch moments remained constant from 2024-25 to 2025-26. While his game-winning goal count decreased from three to two, the fact that he recorded an overtime goal offsets any argument that could be made about this decrease.
At the same time, Newhook recorded a career-high face-off win percentage of 47.5%. His previous best face-off win percentage was a 46.5% mark set during the 2023-24 campaign, and his 47.5% tally was an increase of almost five percent from the previous season.
Why fans should consider his playoff impact
Through his first four playoff campaigns (2021-2023 with the Colorado Avalanche and 2025 with the Habs), Newhook recorded just nine points. His highest total came in 2022, when he recorded four assists during the Avs' Stanley Cup triumph. Two of those assists came during Colorado's dominant Game 2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. Combined, Newhook recorded just two goals and seven assists through his first four playoff campaigns.
But like how the FIFA World Cup can highlight unknown and emerging talents, the 2025-26 postseason highlighted how valuable Newhook can be in the big moments. That postseason saw him record his entire postseason points tally and then some, with 10 points (seven goals and three assists) being provided by the Newfoundland native.
What's even more compelling is that three of them were either game-winning or overtime goals, two of which were series-winning goals.
Alongside his 10 playoff points, Newhook recorded a +/- rating of +3, over 17 minutes of ice time per game, and a face-off win percentage of almost 40%.
The one blemish on that 2025-26 playoff record? He recorded 16 penalty minutes, though 10 of them came in Game 5 of the Habs' second-round series against the Buffalo Sabres.
Overall grade: B+
For just shy of $3 million per year, Newhook still brings considerable value to a Habs offense that is, despite the overall playoff performance, becoming one of the league's more dangerous units.
While the continued decline seen in his regular-season point scoring and his average ice time hurts his grade, his playoff performance does more than enough to give him a passing grade and then some.
That said, Newhook is going to need to find a way to turn his regular-season numbers around entirely. He's set to become a restricted free agent after the end of next season, and continued declines could make the Habs' front office a little skeptical of bringing him back for the long term. If he struggles significantly during the regular season, he might end up being part of a trade package that sees him sent for a more consistent forward.
Even then, Newhook's most recent playoff performance is worth justifying the Habs keeping him around for at least another season.
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