Avalanche trade Newhook's rights to Canadiens for pair of picks
The Colorado Avalanche sent the rights to forward Alex Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for the 31st and 37th overall picks in the NHL draft, as well as AHL defenseman Gianni Fairbrother, the teams announced Tuesday.
Newhook is a pending restricted free agent. The 22-year-old produced 14 goals and 16 assists while playing all 82 games for the Avalanche this past season. It was his second full campaign with Colorado, the club that drafted him 16th overall in 2019.
The Canadiens still hold the No. 5 pick in Wednesday's proceedings, but now they won't select again until the 69th pick. The 31st selection originally belonged to the Florida Panthers.
Newhook's per-game production declined slightly this past season after he collected 13 goals and 20 assists across 71 contests in 2021-22.
The St. John's, Newfoundland-born skater can play both left wing and center. He won the Tim Taylor Award recognizing the NCAA's rookie of the year while playing with Boston College in 2019-20, racking up 19 goals and 23 assists over 34 games that season. Newhook played part of one more campaign at that level before making his debut with the Avalanche on May 5, 2021.
Newhook helped the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup in 2021-22 with four assists in 12 playoff games.