The Canadiens will activate Alex Newhook from injured reserve before tomorrow’s game versus the Islanders, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports. The speedy forward is set for his first appearance in over three months after sustaining an ankle fracture on Nov. 13. They had an open roster spot after waiving and reassigning Sammy Blais to AHL Laval before the Olympic break, so no corresponding move is needed.
This was the second ankle injury for Newhook in three years. He also missed 27 games in 2023-24 after sustaining a high ankle sprain in December of that year before this season’s complete fracture, which ended up keeping him sidelined for nearly half the campaign. After plenty of warmup time over the break, he’ll now be an option for the Habs as they look to secure consecutive playoff berths for the first time since 2020 and 2021.
Before the break, Newhook was well on his way toward avenging a disastrous 2024-25 campaign. He had racked up six goals and 12 points through 17 games, giving him a career-high 0.71 points per game rate. He was doing so in 14:38 of ice time per game, down from his first two years in Montreal, but was seeing even-strength deployment as the Habs’ second-line left winger with Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov.
While moving Newhook away from his natural center position has appeared to yield dividends for the Habs, whether he remains in a top-six role remains to be seen. Since Newhook’s injury, the Habs have opted to break up their usual top line and have bumped Juraj Slafkovsky down to the 2LW slot with Kapanen and Demidov, giving them an added element of secondary production. There’s an argument to be made that, if Montreal wants to keep that unit together, Newhook would be a higher-ceiling fit on the first line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield than either Zachary Bolduc and Alexandre Texier, both of whom have cycled into that slot since Slafkovsky moved down to the second line.
Of course, that debate may be moot after the trade deadline. Montreal has been testing the market for a top-six winger to play with Suzuki and Caufield. They could either leverage Newhook in that move – something they could comfortably do as they’re scoring 3.46 goals per game this season – or bump him down to a bottom-six job if they bring someone in above him.