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Montreal Canadiens Sign Alex Newhook

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The Montreal Canadiens have gotten a deal worked out for their big trade addition this offseason. After nabbing the signing rights to former first-round pick Alex Newhook via trade from the Colorado Avalanche last month, the team’s now inked him to a four-year contract with an average annual value of $2.9MM. CapFriendly reports the breakdown of the deal as follows:

2023-24: $3.5MM salary
2024-25: $3.3MM salary
2025-26: $2.7MM salary
2026-27: $2.1MM salary

Newhook will still be a restricted free agent at the end of this semi-long-term commitment, given he’s still just 22 years old and has only two full seasons of pro experience. This is the longest contract possible for Newhook without surrendering his signing rights at the end – a five-year deal would have walked him directly to unrestricted free agency in 2028.

While Newhook may not have taken the step forward most hoped for in Colorado last season, a $2.9MM cap hit is still fair value for his services, even if he doesn’t pan out as hoped with the Canadiens. The 2019 16th overall pick played in all 82 games for the Avalanche last season but posted just 14 goals, 16 assists, and 30 points despite being given top-six minutes to start the season. He’d later fall down the depth chart in favor of J.T. Compher, who earned himself a payday in free agency by signing a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

As it stands right now, Newhook is a fine third-line center whose game translates to the wing rather seamlessly. The contract may be a slight overpay based on last year’s performance, but it could be a significant bargain in a couple of years should he approach his ceiling – a bonafide top-six playmaking center.

Newhook projects to fit in somewhere among Montreal’s second or third lines, although predicting line combinations at this stage in the offseason isn’t a prudent exercise given the team’s backlog among forwards of depth veterans and up-and-comers alike. It does seem likely he’ll start the season on the wing, however, unless the team pursues trading someone like Christian Dvorak.

Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Mitchell Stephens

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Center Mitchell Stephens has a new contract for 2023-24, re-signing with the Montreal Canadiens on a one-year, two-way deal. Per CapFriendly, the deal pays him $775K in the NHL and $300K in the minors, carrying a minimum guaranteed salary of $385K.

The 26-year-old Ontario-born forward was a restricted free agent this offseason, although he didn’t file for salary arbitration despite being eligible.

Stephens didn’t see any NHL ice last season, spending the entire campaign in the AHL for the first time since 2018-19. In 68 games with the Laval Rocket, he registered 20 goals and 21 assists for 41 points, finishing third on the team in scoring.

He is a reliable NHL call-up option if Montreal wants a more veteran presence. He’s accumulated 72 NHL games over three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, scoring three goals and 13 points while largely playing in a fourth-line role.

Selected 33rd overall in 2015 by Tampa Bay, it doesn’t appear a full-time NHL role is in Stephens’ future. However, he’ll lock down a top-six role again in Laval next season.

Re-signing Stephens leaves Montreal with four RFAs still to sign: center Alex Newhook, left wing Lucas Condotta, right wing Jesse Ylonen, and left defenseman Nicolas Beaudin.

Canadiens Amateur Scout Explains David Reinbacher Selection

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  • Montreal Canadiens co-director of amateur scouting Nick Bobrov sat down with The Athletic’s Arpon Basu, commenting on the organizational philosophy that led them to select defenseman David Reinbacher at fifth overall – a pick contested by some who believe the team should’ve taken a swing on Matvei Michkov, who fell to seventh overall. Emphasizing Reinbacher’s solid pro play and well-rounded analytical profile, Bobrov did have an interesting comment regarding concerns about the team’s lack of scoring: “So I would push back against the notion that we have no scoring. We have very young players who always scored, and they’re getting better every month. And then, you know, how many 40-goal scorers did Vegas have this year? You start looking at the playoffs, right? The playoffs.” Scoring by committee isn’t a new philosophy for the Habs, who haven’t had a player hit the 80-point plateau since Alex Kovalev in 2008.

Alain Vigneault Announces Retirement From Coaching

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After a 19-season head coaching career spanning four teams, seasoned NHL bench boss Alain Vigneault has declared his retirement from coaching in an interview with the Journal de Québec, according to a report from French-Canadian outlet RDS.

Vigneault, still under contract with the Flyers after being fired in December of 2021, made it clear that his last contract would be his final one and that he has no intention of returning to coaching. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reported last summer that Philadelphia was likely Vigneault’s final stop as an NHL head coach.

The 62-year-old Canadian coach leaves behind a rather illustrious coaching career – Vigneault’s 1,363 games behind an NHL bench places him 15th in NHL history for most games coached. He accumulated over 700 wins throughout his coaching journey, a feat achieved by only nine other coaches in NHL history.

However, he didn’t quite reach hockey’s pinnacle, never getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Although he made the playoffs in 12 of his 19 seasons, he advanced twice to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in both tries.

Vigneault’s coaching tenure in the NHL began in the 1997-98 season when he took the helm of the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to coach the Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, and finally, the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vigneault’s primary piece of individual hardware came in 2006-07, winning the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Canucks after guiding the team to a 49-26-7 record and Northwest Division title. Vancouver would bow out in the second round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks, thanks to a relatively innocuous double-overtime winner in Game 5 from Ducks defender Scott Niedermayer (video link).

Vancouver was undoubtedly Vigneault’s most successful stop, as he would win back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies with the team in 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Canucks made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance in nearly two decades in 2011 but fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games after taking a 2-0 lead in the series.

Vigneault made it back to the Final three seasons later with the New York Rangers but lost all three overtime games in the series en route to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings.

Before starting his coaching career, Vigneault had a brief playing stint as an NHLer. He played 42 games as a defenseman for the St. Louis Blues in the 1980s before transitioning to coaching at just 25 years old.

He does boast an all-time playoff record of 78-77, a rare mark above .500 for a coach without a Cup victory. With his longevity placing him in the upper echelon of all-time NHL coaches, as well as a Jack Adams and two conference championships, it wouldn’t surprise many to see a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame in his future.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Montreal Canadiens Sign David Reinbacher

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The Montreal Canadiens have signed recent fifth-overall selection David Reinbacher to a three-year entry-level contract, according to a team announcement.

CapFriendly has word on the financial details: the contract carries a $950k cap hit and a $2.117 AAV factoring in possible performance bonuses. Reinbacher has $1MM available in “type A” performance bonuses for the three years of the deal, and gets $500k in “type B” performance bonuses available to him in the final year of the contract. The deal also contains a European Assignment Clause in its first two seasons.

The Canadiens have not finalized their plan on where they’ll have Reinbacher play next season, though by signing this entry-level deal Reinbacher will now get the chance to compete for an NHL job at training camp next fall or be assigned to their AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

Reinbacher could also always be loaned back to the club he was drafted from, EHC Kloten, and have his entry-level deal “slide” another season just as many players have in the past, such as Moritz Seider with the Detroit Red Wings.

Laval is shaping up to be extremely well-stocked with Canadiens prospects next season, with top names such as Joshua Roy, Riley Kidney, Logan Mailloux, and more expected to see regular minutes for the team’s AHL affiliate.

There is merit to the idea that having Reinbacher log heavy minutes with that group is the best route to take for his development, as it would not only acclimate him to smaller North American ice surfaces but also allow him to build lasting relationships with his potential future teammates.

There is also merit to loaning him back to Kloten. Reinbacher had quite the season for the recently-promoted Swiss side, rapidly climbing their depth charts and moving from a bottom-pairing, number-six role near the start of the season to a top-pairing, minutes-eating role by the end of the year.

Worth noting is the fact that if Montreal does assign Reinbacher to Laval out of training camp, the European Assignment Clause in the deal likely means that the Canadiens will eventually have to loan Reinbacher back to Kloten at a certain point in the season.

It’s Reinbacher’s immense success in one of the more talented men’s leagues in Europe that got him drafted so high (along with his upside as an all-around defenseman, to be clear) so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Montreal double down on Kloten being the right environment for Reinbacher to develop in even without any time in Laval.

Regardless of what path the Canadiens ultimately choose, signing this entry-level deal was largely a formality for Montreal with Reinbacher. While the team faced heavy backlash from a small-but-vocal subset of its fanbase for passing on Russian superstar winger Matvei Michkov to draft Reinbacher, just a quick look at the latter’s game film from Kloten shows exactly why he was made such a high pick.

Reinbacher spent quite a bit of time at Canadiens development camp partnered with and playing with the team’s other top defensive prospect, Lane Hutson, and it’s easy to imagine the two complimenting each other and Reinbacher in the future serving as the long-term partner for the player he recently called “the next Cale Makar.”

But before that can happen, Reinbacher will need to continue to develop his game, and by signing this entry-level deal he’s opened up every possible option in order to do so.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Canadiens Re-Sign Mitchell Stephens

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With the arbitration deadline fast approaching, Montreal has taken care of one of their arbitration-eligible players as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed Mitchell Stephens to a one-year, two-way contract.  The deal will pay $775K in the NHL and $300K in the AHL with a total guarantee of $385K, a $10K raise on the guaranteed part of his contract last season.

The 26-year-old signed with Montreal last summer after being non-tendered by the Red Wings.  However, after spending all of 2021-22 in the NHL, Stephens passed through waivers unclaimed in training camp and was assigned to AHL Laval where he spent the entire season.  Last year, he played in 68 games with the Rocket, collecting 20 goals and 21 assists.

Stephens has a total of 72 career NHL games under his belt between Detroit and Tampa Bay, picking up three goals and ten assists.  With the Canadiens having somewhat of a forward surplus already, it seems likely that Stephens will be back on waivers in training camp and will look to play his way into a recall during the season.  While Montreal retained his rights by issuing a qualifying offer last week, this is Stephens’ final season of eligibility; he’ll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

Laval Rocket Add Tobie Paquette-Bisson, Strauss Mann On AHL Deals

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The AHL’s Laval Rocket are bringing a pair of players into the Montreal Canadiens organization. They’ve signed one-year contracts with defenseman Tobie Paquette-Bisson and goalie Strauss Mann, bolstering their depth as Laval looks to improve on a middling 2022-23 campaign.

Montreal Canadiens Extend Rafael Harvey-Pinard

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One of the Montreal Canadiens’ more intriguing breakout players last season has gotten a nice payday. Today, they announced a two-year contract extension for winger Rafael Harvey-Pinard, carrying an average annual value of $1.1MM. Per CapFriendly, he’ll earn $1.2MM in 2023-24 and $1.0MM in 2024-25, paid entirely in base salary.

Harvey-Pinard earns his first one-way NHL contract after a very strong late-season performance in Montreal. His 14 goals and 20 points in 34 games were equivalent to a 0.59 points-per-game rate, sixth among all qualified Canadiens.

The 2019 seventh-round pick has posted strong numbers in the minors since turning pro in 2020, putting to rest most concerns about his undersized frame. Standing at 5-foot-9 and 181 pounds, the 24-year-old Quebecer has 107 points in 145 AHL games with the Laval Rocket over the past three seasons.

He’s surely in line to make the team out of camp, but if things do go wrong for the Canadiens and Harvey-Pinard in two years’ time, his $1.1MM salary is fully buriable in the minors.

Harvey-Pinard spent most of his call-up elevated in the Canadiens’ lineup, playing on captain Nick Suzuki’s wing. His NHL stint happened after Cole Caufield was shut down for the season with a shoulder injury, though, so he’ll likely see a slight reduction on the 17:13 he averaged per game last year. Still, he’s part of a group of budding Canadiens forwards under the age of 25 that also includes Alex Newhook, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Kirby Dach.

He’ll have arbitration rights as a restricted free agent at the end of his contract, potentially setting himself up for a big short-term payday if things go well. Due to the structure of his contract, he’ll only be due a $1MM qualifying offer in 2025.

His signing does push Montreal over the salary cap’s $83.5MM Upper Limit just slightly, but they’ll have no issue remaining compliant throughout the season with netminder Carey Price’s $10.5MM cap hit stashed on long-term injured reserve.

Latest On Alex Newhook Contract Talks

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  • Finally, Pagnotta reports that the Montreal Canadiens and newly-acquired RFA forward Alex Newhook still “haven’t begun” negotiations on a new contract. Seeing as the Newhook trade was widely cited as mirroring last year’s Kirby Dach deal, it would be no surprise to see Newhook’s contract match the deal Dach signed last offseason, a four-year pact with an AAV a little above $3MM. Newhook has been more productive in the NHL than Dach was to that point, so Newhook’s deal could look a little different, but using that contract as a general guide is likely to be wise.

Montreal Canadiens Sign Lias Andersson

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The Montreal Canadiens have signed 2017 seventh-overall pick Lias Andersson, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. The deal is a two-way contract with a $775k cap hit and $450k AHL salary, according to the report. PuckPedia later clarified that while Andersson is guaranteed at least $450K during his deal, his AHL salary is actually $375K.

This contract reunites Andersson with some of the executives responsible for drafting him, namely Canadiens president of hockey operations Jeff Gorton, and two members of the Canadiens’ staff who held high roles with the New York Rangers: Gordie Clark and Nick Bobrov. Andersson, 24, didn’t quite live up to the hype as a Ranger and was ultimately dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2020 second-round pick.

Andersson similarly struggled to make an impact at the NHL level with the Kings, although he has become a premier player at the AHL level. Andersson scored 31 goals and 59 points in 67 games for Los Angeles’ AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, and his hefty AHL salary is likely a reflection of the Canadiens’ belief that Andersson will be a top player for the Laval Rocket.

If Andersson can continue to be a top player at the AHL level for the Canadiens, this will be money well spent, even if he’s unlikely to make much of an impact at the NHL level.

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