Canadiens sign former first-round pick to four-year deal

For a second consecutive offseason, the Montreal Canadiens acquired a young RFA center with first-round pedigree who hadn’t found an opportunity to bust out with his original team. And for a second consecutive offseason, the Habs have signed that player to a four-year extension.

Last summer, it was Kirby Dach, acquired on draft day and signed by September. This time, it’s Alex Newhook. The Habs acquired him from the Colorado Avalanche on June 27 for picks 31 and 37 in the 2023 NHL Draft plus defenseman Gianni Fairbrother. On Tuesday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Canadiens have signed Newhook to a four-year contract carrying a $2.9M AAV. The Habs announced the signing shortly thereafter.

Newhook, 22, was a first-round pick, 16^th overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft, having wrapped up a dominant career in the BCHL. After two productive seasons with Boston College, Newhook turned pro late in the 2020-21 season and got into some playoff games with the Avs. His NHL career has never quite taken off, however. He impressed with a 13-goal, 33-point rookie campaign in 2021-22 and, after Nazem Kadri left in free agency, was talked up by the Avalanche brass as a candidate to become the team’s No. 2 center. But J.T. Compher ended up winning that job, and Newhook’s game didn’t evolve much in 2022-23. He picked up 14 goals and 30 points in 11 more games than he played the previous season.

With Compher walking in free agency, there could’ve been a chance for Newhook to ascend in Colorado’s lineup, but they traded for Ryan Johansen on June 24 and shipped Newhook to Montreal three days later. He joins a crowded forward corps that includes many players who can play center: Nick Suzuki, Dach, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Sean Monahan and so on. But Newhook has the flexibility to play the wing, too, and that should make him a top-nine forward at worst in 2022-23.