The hits keep on coming for the Montreal Canadiens. This time it’s winger Alex Newhook, out with a high ankle sprain. The injury happened Thursday night against Florida; Newhook did not return to the game. Per @CanadiensMTL, he’s expected to be out for 10-12 weeks. For those of you keeping count, that’s two top-six forwards (Kirby Dach and Newhook) and a top-pairing defenceman (David Savard) out long-term for the Habs, and it’s the first week of December.
Newhook Out With Injury
After a slow start, Newhook has 13 points (7G, 6A) in his 23 games with Montreal. He arrived in late June from the Colorado Avalanche, in exchange for a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and Gianni Fairbrother. The St. John’s, Newfoundland native was Colorado’s first-round pick in 2019, and played 71 games with the Avs when they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.
What this Means for Montreal
After a brief experiment at centre replacing the also-injured Kirby Dach, Newhook has played predominantly on the left wing this season. He plays most often with Nick Suzuki at centre and either Josh Anderson or Brendan Gallagher on the right side. It will be interesting to see what coach Martin St-Louis does to replace Newhook on the Habs’ struggling power play, currently in the bottom third of the league. As for five-on-five, Newhook’s temporary replacement, Mitchell Stephens, is on his way to Montreal from Laval. The former second-round pick of Tampa Bay has 12 points in 16 games with the Rocket this season. Stephens has played 72 NHL games since the 2019-20 season, with both the Lightning and the Red Wings. He’ll face his old team tonight as Detroit visits the Bell Centre. The Red Wings have won four of their last five, outscoring opponents 21-6 in that stretch.
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