The Avalanche traded forward Alex Newhook to Montreal for two of the Canadiens’ 2023 draft picks and an AHL defenseman on Tuesday, the eve of the NHL draft.
Colorado received the No. 31 (first round) and No. 37 (second round) overall picks in exchange for the negotiating rights to the restricted free agent Newhook, whose entry-level contract just expired. Previously, the Avs’ only pick of the first four rounds was No. 27. Loading up on top-40 picks might be a sign of a bigger move on the horizon for first-year general manager Chris MacFarland.
However, the Avs also possess one of the league’s worst prospect pools, so with a list of potential draft targets who project in the 30s, the trade might also be as simple as a search for mutual fresh starts — for the Avalanche and for Newhook.
The first round of the draft is Wednesday (5 p.m. MT, ESPN) in Nashville.
The Avs also acquired defenseman Gianni Fairbrother, 22, who missed the entire 2022-23 AHL season with a right knee injury that he sustained in a preseason game for the Laval Rocket. Fairbrother played 25 AHL games in 2021-22. He was the No. 77 pick in the 2019 draft.
Colorado selected Newhook at No. 16 in that same draft, pairing him with Bo Byram as the team’s top two rising prospects who would eventually help win the Avalanche the 2022 Stanley Cup.
The organization has been encouraged by flashes of Newhook’s play but frustrated by his inconsistency throughout the last year. He started the season in a short-lived audition for the second-line center role but quickly ended up bouncing around the lineup. Alternating between wing and center, Newhook played all 82 games and finished with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists). In three seasons with the Avalanche, he amassed 27 goals and 39 assists in 159 games.
Newhook is a family friend of Kent Hughes, Montreal’s general manager. And the Canadiens are the closest team to Newhook’s hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. He is one of only three players from Newfoundland to win the Stanley Cup.
Newhook joins Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Darcy Kuemper and Nico Sturm as players from Colorado’s Cup-clinching game in June 2022 who are officially no longer on the team. Erik Johnson is also set to try the open market in free agency without re-signing with the Avalanche. J.T. Compher, Andrew Cogliano, Darren Helm and Jack Johnson are pending UFAs as well.
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