Alex Newhook signs a long-term contract with the Habs

The Montreal Canadiens have been busy this offseason locking up the pieces of their young core, and on Tuesday they checked another big name off the list. Coming off a playoff run that saw the Habs reach the Eastern Conference Final, GM Kent Hughes continues to show that this front office is committed to keeping this group together for the foreseeable future. And honestly, after what we saw from this team last spring, can you blame them?

The Deal and What Newhook Brings

Alex Newhook has officially agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Canadiens, worth a total of $22.2 million and carrying an average annual value of $5.55 million. The new deal kicks in starting with the 2027-28 season, meaning Newhook will play out the final year of his current contract before the extension begins. That current deal, a four-year pact worth $11.6 million that he signed back in July 2023, has turned out to be a pretty solid bargain for Montreal.

Newhook's 2025-26 regular season was limited to just 42 games after he suffered a fractured ankle that required surgery. Despite the setback, he still managed to put up 13 goals and 12 assists for 25 points, including a pair of power-play goals and two game-winners. But it was his postseason performance that really cemented his value to this team. After returning in late February, the St. John's, Newfoundland native caught fire in the playoffs, tallying seven goals and three assists across 19 games. He led the entire team in playoff goals and, perhaps most importantly, scored the series-clinching goal in both of Montreal's Game 7 victories. That kind of clutch production is exactly what you pay for.

Since entering the league with the Colorado Avalanche in 2020-21, Newhook has accumulated 151 points on 70 goals and 81 assists across 338 career regular-season games. He also has a Stanley Cup ring from his time in Colorado, having won it all with the Avs back in 2022. Originally selected 16th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, Newhook was acquired by Montreal in a trade with Colorado on June 27, 2023, and has posted 85 points in 179 games as a Hab.

Building Around the Young Core

This signing is about more than just one player. Newhook is part of an exciting group of young forwards in Montreal that now includes captain Nick Suzuki, sniper Cole Caufield, power forward Juraj Slafkovsky, and rookie of the year runner-up Ivan Demidov. With Newhook's extension now in place, all five of those forwards are locked up through at least the 2030-31 season. That is a seriously impressive young nucleus for a team that just made a deep playoff run.

The Canadiens also took care of some other business on Tuesday, signing defenseman Arber Xhekaj to a one-year, $1.5 million deal. The 25-year-old blueliner led the team with 178 hits during the regular season and added some physicality in the postseason as well. Originally signed as an undrafted free agent, Xhekaj has become a fan favorite and leads all Canadiens players with 642 hits since his debut in 2022-23.

With training camp right around the corner, the Canadiens appear to have their key pieces in place heading into what should be a highly anticipated 2026-27 season. After getting a taste of deep playoff hockey last spring, this group is only going to be hungrier. Locking up Newhook at a reasonable number for the term ensures that one of their most clutch performers will be wearing the bleu, blanc, et rouge for years to come.