Montreal Canadiens Role Profiles: Alex Newhook

As we get into the dog days of summer and until training camp, thesickpodcast.com will profile Montreal Canadiens players based on their expected role for the 2026-27 NHL season.

Forward Alex Newhook is coming off a season in which he suffered a major injury that sidelined him for half of the 2025-26 campaign. When he was healthy, though, Newhook played the best hockey of his NHL career. The 25-year-old, versatile forward will look to improve even more as he heads into the final season of a four-year, $11.6 million ($2.9M AAV) contract.

#Habs Alex Newhook on his season – June 1

“It was a good step for me. The injury took a bit of a toll on the season, not playing as many games and then trying to come back from that. But I had a bigger impact on the game this year individually. You just try to keep getting… pic.twitter.com/KwyB2stlZI

— Chris G (@ChrisHabs360) June 9, 2026

Newhook finished the 2025-26 regular season with 13 goals and 25 points in 42 games. He would have likely put up a very respectable 25 goals and 49 points over a full 82-game schedule if not for the ankle injury that sidelined him for 40 games early in the season.

While his regular-season performance was good, the 2026 playoffs saw Newhook reach another level altogether. He led all Montreal Canadiens players in postseason goals with seven, which includes both of the team’s series-winning goals. The reality is that without Newhook, the Canadiens would definitely not have beaten the Buffalo Sabres in the second round and possibly not the Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round either.

ALEX NEWHOOK, GAME 7 HERO 🤩 pic.twitter.com/0MPq4HL3ik

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 19, 2026

Newhook actually scored six of his seven playoff goals during the series against the Sabres, the biggest being a Game 7 overtime-winning goal that sent the Montreal Canadiens to the Eastern Conference Finals. When the Canadiens needed a hero most, Newhook stepped up and got the job done. 

One of the reasons why Newhook was among the Canadiens’ best players during the postseason may go back to 2022, when he won the Stanley Cup as a 21-year-old rookie with the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently the only player in the organization who has won the Cup, and his performance for the Canadiens in the 2026 NHL Playoffs showed that. That experience clearly rubbed off on the young Canadiens core around him and will once again be a valuable asset if, as expected, the Canadiens make the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

When it comes to his role on the team, Newhook has spent the last few years bouncing between playing centre and winger; however, it is clear that he plays his best hockey on the wing for the Canadiens. As it stands, he is slotted as the second-line left winger if the Montreal Canadiens don’t make any impact moves during the rest of the off-season. While that may seem disappointing to some Canadiens fans, the truth is a 25-goal and 49-point pace is the average production for a second-line forward in the NHL. Therefore, he has what it takes to fit in as a complementary speedy winger in a top-six role. There is, however, the possibility that a young talent like Zack Bolduc bounces back from a tough sophomore season and eventually takes that spot from him if no other moves are made, which could allow Newhook to play on the third line. This would allow Newhook to exploit weaker matchups with his speed, which in turn could help the Canadiens get a significant boost to their secondary scoring. During the playoffs, it became clear that he and Jake Evans have great chemistry together, which is why Newhook being on the third line could also be ideal for the Canadiens this upcoming season.

On top of having his best season in terms of his points per game, Newhook was also given a new role during the 2025-26 season as a regular on the penalty kill. Thanks to his speed, he proved to be a great fit in that role and should only continue to be an important part of the penalty kill this upcoming season. Just as Paul Byron and Josh Anderson did before him, Newhook proved that speed can kill when being shorthanded.

This upcoming season should see Newhook play a similar middle-six role as last year, with the hopes that no major injury hampers his season again. Either way, his speed will be a very big threat for opposing teams when he takes to the ice for the 2026-27 season.

Check out yesterday’s role profile on captain Nick Suzuki.