Plenty of Montreal Canadiens players are having a great season this year, but there's one player whose performances have gone largely unnoticed: Alex Newhook.
There has been no shortage of storylines around the Montreal Canadiens this season; the Habs’ struggles in net, Juraj Slafkovsky’s awakening, Cole Caufield’s chase for the 50-goal mark, the Rocket Richard Trophy and Nick Suzuki’s arrival on the international stage, which earned him recognition in other NHL markets—lost amongst all that, though, is the fact that Alex Newhook is having the best season of his career.
The 25-year-old winger has only played 35 games so far this season, but he still has 23 points to his name, which is a 54-point pace projected over the course of a full 82-game campaign. In the past, his highest-scoring season was 34 points in just 55 games in his first year with the Habs, which was a 51-point pace over 82 games.
Not unlike Kirby Dach, Newhook has been plagued by injuries since joining the Habs ahead of the 2023-24 season. In three seasons, he has played just 172 games out of a possible 239 so far. Still, with regular linemates Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen this year, he has proven to be a viable option on the top six. A much better option than Dach, who only put up 14 points in the 32 games he skated in this season, a 36-point pace over a full 82-game season.
Granted, on a contending team, Newhook would more than likely be a good third liner, but playing with a couple of talented youngsters, he has shown an ability to raise the level of his game. Next season, the Newfoundlander will be entering the final year of the four-year deal he signed when he joined the Canadiens, and he will have another chance to prove that he should be part of Montreal’s plans long-term. In an ideal world, he would be able to remain healthy and prove that he can consistently produce at the rate he has this season.
As things stand, he looks like a good option while the Canadiens wait to see how players like Michael Hage and Alexander Zharovsky will develop in the coming years and how well their skills will translate to the NHL.
In the Canadiens’ seven-game winning streak, Newhook has five points and a plus-five rating.
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