Will the Montreal Canadiens Alex Newhook carry over the momentum from 2023-24? Will he see decent power play time in 2024-25? Does he slot in on the second or third line, centre or winger? The answers to all these questions and more. Here we are to provide our point projections, this time for the Newfoundland and Labrador product, Alex Newhook.
Alex Newhook Points Projections for 2024-25
Alex Newhook is coming off of a career-year for the Montreal Canadiens in 2023-24. The question on everyone’s mind, is whether or not he will be able to build on it. Last year Newhook had 15 goals (career-high), 19 assists (second most of career), and 34 points (career-high). The impressive aspect of these total stats was the number of games that Newhook suited up for in 2023-24. He only played 55 games which is compared to 71 and 82 in his other two full NHL seasons. Furthermore, he had an excellent shooting percentage at 17.6% (also a career-high). Another statistic that has onlookers optimistic was his Corsi rating. This was also a career-high value, specifically his CF% Rel at 7.6.
Looking Back at His 2023-24
The biggest factors for Newhook in 2024-25 are dependent on his deployment and also injuries among the forward group. Given the injuries to the forward group last year, there was lots of shuffling around. Newhook was cycled throughout the group quite a bit. Furthermore, he was only apart of two forward lines that played more than 58 minutes on ice together. His two most utilized lines included Joel Armia on each of them. Brendan Gallagher and Joshua Roy split time as the other winger with Armia and Newhook. In any sense, his most common linemate, Armia, is not one to be considered overly offensive. It is worth noting that his experience playing alongside Gallagher would be instrumental as his development as a consistent NHL offensive contributor that he will carry with him throughout the future of his career.
Enough about the past, let’s think about the future. The Canadiens come into 2024-25 with a renewed sense of optimism, especially among the forward group. The top line, powered by the emergence of Juraj Slafkovsky seems set, and ready to go. Slafkovsky will be accompanied with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield on the first line of the Canadiens. Moreover, the second line is filled with tons of cautious optimism. For the purpose of our projections, we are predicting the line is Kirby Dach, Patrik Laine, and Newhook.
Newhook’s Projected 2024-25 Offensively-Minded Linemates
Dach is a 6’4″ skilled, power forward who has thus far had injuries slow his career trajectory. If he his healthy, his 38 points in 58 games playing 18:30 minutes a game in 2022-23 could foreshadow what he could achieve. Moreover, Patrik Laine is a newcomer, recently acquired via trade from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Despite various issues limiting Laine’s time in Columbus, he comes to Montreal with a clean slate. When he’s playing, he has maintained a high-level of productivity. Through his eight-years in the NHL, if averaged out over an 82-game season, he has 34 goals. Mixing in a player, Newhook, coming off career-highs, this line has everything to like about it. Speed, size, skill, and a shooter, as a second line. So, just how will this impact Newhook’s output?
Looking Inside the Stats
Newhook is going to advance his statistics for a number of reasons. If he is playing on the second line regularly, as well as build on how much he was contributing on the power play, he’s going to get plenty of opportunity. Look for him to land somewhere around 18 minutes a night. In addition, Newhook’s points-per-60 minutes has been fairly consistent. Last year his Pts/60 landed at 2.2. With regular linemates, plus the fact that they are very offensively gifted linemates, and more rhythm from an increase of ice time, it’s not inconceivable to see him bumped up to somewhere between 2.4 and 2.6, if not higher. Newhook has shown he can be efficient with his terrific shooting percentage from last year. Again, playing with offensively-minded linemates, should do nothing to hurt his standing in that statistic. However, it would be reasonable to consider a slight drop, given a shift to his mean.
The last consideration may seem like somewhat an oxy-moron. The interesting part about Newhook’s role with the club is in the case of injury. Even if injuries plague the forward group, it is not a bad thing for Newhook. Given his standing with the club, if anything, that’s a possible way he gets more ice time. Also, he could find himself playing higher in the lineup. Maybe not much on the first line, but a lot less on the third line.
Final Point Projections for Alex Newhook in 2024-25
In terms of specific projections for Alex Newhook in 2024-25, we can take the sum of the part. If Newhook is playing 18 minutes a night, as a rate of 2.5 Pts/60, and suits up for 75 games, that works out to 56 points. In contrast, there’s no reason to think he can’t go a bit higher. Being on a line of efficient point-getters, like Laine, along with Newhook’s shooting, these are all variables that could potentially drive his output higher. Furthermore, maximizing his power play time and achieving momentum in that situation will also drive his point total higher. The more time he spends on the power play also drives up his total ice time. He’s already shown he can handle more responsibility going from a sub-14 minute a night player with the Colorado Avalanche to playing nearly 17-minutes a night last year. Montreal as a whole comes into the season with a ton of optimism, and Newhook is no exception. Lookout for big things in 2024-25 from the Habs player from the land known simply as ‘The Rock.’
Main Photo Credit: Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports
