The Colorado Avalanche are trading young forward Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for a first-round pick and a second-round pick, per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
The picks going to Colorado are for the 2023 NHL Draft, which begins on Wednesday in Nashville. The Avs get the 31st and 37th overall picks from Montreal. The first-round pick was from the Florida Panthers. Colorado also acquires D Gianni Fairbrother. The deal was made official shortly after the report.
Newhook, 22, was the 16th overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the Avalanche. He has at least 30 points in each of the past two seasons. Newhook is set to become a restricted free agent when the calendar flips in July. He played mostly in the middle-6 for the Avalanche but did play in 27 playoff games over the past three seasons, scoring seven points (one goal) in that span.
This is an odd move by Montreal. You’d think using draft capital to get an NHL player would entail acquiring someone a little less risky. Newhook has upside but he also had plenty of chances with the Avalanche to step up with Gabriel Landeskog out all of the 2022-23 season and Nazem Kadri departing in free agency. Newhook had a clear path to becoming the second-line center and it never really happened.
The Canadiens will have a spot for Newhook somewhere in the top-3 skating lines this upcoming season. This also could be a precursor to how the Habs go about their first-round pick on Wednesday. Between Nick Suzuki, Kirby Dach and Newhook, Montreal has some young center depth. Does that mean the team opts for a wing such as Matvei Michkov or Ryan Leonard over a center like Will Smith or Leo Carlsson? We’ll see on Wednesday night.
This is a phenomenal move by the Avalanche. You get two picks within the top 40 in a deep forward draft. Colorado can either move up in the draft to take a better forward prospect or package the picks they have for an NHL forward to play on the wing with Ryan Johansen on the second line if Gabriel Landeskog can’t return.
