The Colorado Avalanche entered the 2021-22 season with some vacancies in their lineup. With Joonas Donskoi, Brandon Saad, Matt Calvert, Carl Soderberg, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Liam O’Brien all out, the deepest team in the league suddenly felt shallow. Sure, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen still made up one of the best first-lines in hockey. Plus, Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky gave Colorado five bonafide top six skaters. What they lost, though, was quality depth capable of playing up and down the lineup. The cap situation left Joe Sakic with few options to fill all the holes. Thankfully, rookie Alex Newhook is fitting in. He stepped up in a big way, providing the depth scoring the Avs needed.
Alex Newhook Fitting In Admirably for Colorado Avalanche
Originally drafted in the first round, 16th overall, of the 2019 entry draft, Alex Newhook entered the league last season. He only played in six regular season contests, notching three assists. He then dressed in eight postseason games and collected his first NHL goal. With all the players on expiring contracts, the 20-year-old Newhook on his entry-level deal looked like a perfect solution to the cap crackdown in Denver.
Entering this season, many fans pegged Alex Newhook as a lineup regular. Where exactly he fit, though, varied greatly. The most optimistic slotted him in with Kadri and Burakovsky, rounding out the top six. Others considered the Colorado Eagles in the AHL an ideal landing spot for the rookie, to get one more year of development and confidence under his belt.
In October, it looked like the latter scenario was underway. Newhook logged 10:30 in ice time in the Avs’ season opener and then was sent down to the AHL.
Newhook Emerges as a Staple
That stint in the AHL wound up short-lived. The centreman put up four goals and seven assists for 11 points in ten games for the Eagles. Then, Sakic called him back up to the big club. At the time, the Avs sat at a disappointing 4-5-1 and needed something to ignite the team.
Newhook alone may not have changed the entire course of the Avs’ season. He did post an assist in his first game back, and then a goal in his second. Actually, he posted five points (three goals, two assists) in just his first six games back with Colorado (all wins). His possession metrics sit at a 54.3% Corsi, though a relative Corsi of -0.1%. For only 44 games of NHL experience, there’s plenty of reason to believe those numbers will improve.
Let me be clear here: this is not a causal relationship. But, without Newhook in the lineup, Colorado owns a 3-5-2 record. With Newhook? They’re 32-4-2.
Alex Newhook Should Factor in for Years to Come
Newhook may not be a threat in the Calder conversation for the league’s top rookie. That being said, he owns a respectable stat line, with ten goals, seven assists and 17 points in 38 games played. He skates around 13 and a half minutes per night, including time on the team’s second powerplay unit. His game still has room for growth, an obvious reality to fans whenever Alex Newhook is fitting in and playing particularly well.
At 5’10, 190 pounds, the centre has one more year remaining on his entry-level contract. The team could negotiate a bridge deal after that since his status will be that of an RFA. That deal should favour Colorado nicely. Not to take anything away from Newhook, but there’s still not a huge body of work suggesting he should receive a big-dollar deal yet. Barring an unbelievable breakout next year, he looks like someone on pace for a $3-3.5 million AAV contract in a couple of summers. That being said, could he be worth $5-6 million as early as a year or two from now? Absolutely.
For now, Colorado appreciates having the man sitting tenth on their team in scoring on a contract with less than $1 million AAV. They have less than $500,000 in cap space, but when Newhook needs a raise, plenty of other contracts currently crowding their financial freedom will have expired too. (Looking at you – in a nice way, not a bad way – Erik Johnson.)
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