Alex Newhook already won the Stanley Cup before joining the Montreal Canadiens. He's primed for big things in 2024-25.

It's right there for everyone to see on the bottom rung of the most beautiful trophy in sports, right there between Ryan Murray and Valeri Nichushkin. And unless the NHL changes the configuration of the Stanley Cup in the future, it will remain there for another 59 years.

When Alex Newhook had his name engraved on the Cup after his rookie season with Colorado two years ago, he probably thought at the time he’d win three or four more of them. But, you know, things change. That might still happen, but not anytime soon, because the Montreal Canadiens are still at the top of the league when it comes to moral victories. In the real standings? Not so much.

But as the Canadiens look to make significant advances in their quest back to respectability, their lonely eyes will be turning to the likes of Newhook, who has scored at every level and is starting to look as though he can do the same in the best league in the world. Newhook’s goal in the final game of 2023-24 represented the 100th point of his career.

At 23, Newhook is a serious candidate for a breakout season in 2024-25, not only because he finished the season so strongly after missing 27 games with a high ankle sprain, but because he dragged a couple of veterans along with him who looked sort of, kind of, done. In doing his part to revive the fortunes of Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia, Newhook looks primed to fulfill his potential as a legitimate second-line center.

“I think so,” Newhook said. “The change in environment was a good thing this season, and it gave me room to assert myself and establish myself as someone who can be a difference-maker. You try to get better every year, and that’s been the pattern for me since the start of my career. And next year is no different.”

When people talk about the Canadiens’ youth, not many mention Newhook, and maybe that’s because it feels like he’s been around for a while. But he was born 26 days after teammate Cole Caufield. 

Much of the optimism surrounding Newhook is due to the fact that in his final 13 games of the season, he posted five goals and 12 points. Almost as importantly, Gallagher notched five goals and 11 points, while Armia, who was twice sent to the minors this season, scored six goals and nine points to finish with a career-high 17 goals. Not spectacular numbers, but definitely good enough to think there might be something more there. All three will be back in ’24-25, including Newhook, who will enter the second year of a four-year deal that carries a $2.9-million cap hit.

“I don’t want to put too much credit on myself,” Newhook said. “I think (Armia) found a part of his game, and it was a lot of fun to be a part of that. With Gally, he’s a guy who I think his confidence was coming back, and he’s not a guy who lacks confidence. He seemed to always be around the play and involved in every shift. All three of us were lucky to be working with each other.”

This is an excerpt from Ken Campbell's story in The Hockey News' 2024 Champions Issue, in which Canadiens youngster Alex Newhook's NHL career is put under the microscope.

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