The Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of forward Alex Newhook to a four-year contract worth $2.9 million AAV.
Early on Tuesday, the Montreal Canadiens announced the signing of a four-year contract for 22-year-old restricted free agent Alex Newhook. The deal will pay him $11.6 million over that span, with an average annual value of $2.9 million per season.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Newfoundlander was acquired from the Colorado Avalanche on June 27th in exchange for the 31st and 37th overall picks at the 2023 NHL Draft, and defenseman Gianni Fairbrother.
Newhook was drafted by the Avalanche in 2019 (16th overall), and last season played 82 games for Colorado. He registered 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points during that time. Newhook also contributed four assists in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs on Colorado's journey to win the NHL championship that year.
This marks the third of six restricted free agents to sign a deal with Montreal this summer, after the Canadiens inked contracts with forwards Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Mitchell Stephens. Three RFAs remain unsigned: forwards Jesse Ylonen and Lucas Condotta, as well as defenseman Nicolas Beaudin.
Shortly after Newhook's contract was announced, the Canadiens revealed that their new forward will wear number 15, most recently worn by defenseman Sami Niku in 2022, following Jesperi Kotkaniemi from 2019-2021. Historically, Rejean Houle, father of Laval Rocket head coach Jean-Francois Houle, also wore number 15 from 1977-1983.
Perhaps the most notable in the list of Canadiens players to have worn number 15 is Maurice Richard. Yes, you read that correctly: the Rocket originally wore this number during the 1943-44 season, a year which culminated in Richard lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career. The following season, he switched numbers to the now-retired number nine.