- Alex Newhook signed a four-year, $22.2 million extension with the Canadiens on Tuesday
- He said waiting the deal out risked not being in Montreal at all
- Read below for his full comments and the leverage he walked away from
Alex Newhook had a path to more money. He signed anyway.
The Canadiens forward met with reporters at the team’s Brossard practice facility Friday for the first time since agreeing to a four-year extension, and he did not dress up why he wanted it done now.
“There’s always a risk in waiting it out, one of them being not staying here, and not having a deal. I think it makes it a little more likely you’re not here the next year. I think that was something I didn’t really want to risk. I like being here. I love the city, I love the team. I think with the opportunity we have here, to move on and miss something that can be pretty special here would be pretty brutal.”
Watch Newhook and the rest of Friday’s media session in Brossard:
Montreal announced the deal Tuesday. It runs from 2027-28 through 2030-31 and carries a $5.55 million cap hit.
Newhook gave up real leverage to do it. He would have been arbitration-eligible next summer and one year from unrestricted free agency, coming off the strongest stretch of his career, with the salary cap still climbing.
That stretch is why the number matters. The 25-year-old scored 13 goals and 25 points in 42 games last season, then added 10 points in 19 playoff games.
His biggest one came May 18 in Buffalo, when he beat the Sabres in overtime of Game 7 to push Montreal into the Eastern Conference Final.
That $5.55 million average slots the St. John’s native into the middle of a core the Canadiens spent all week nailing down:
Chris Kreider signed a one-year deal and Zachary Bolduc got four years. Arber Xhekaj re-upped for one more season. Head coach Martin St-Louis picked up a multi-year extension of his own.
Carolina ended Montreal’s run in five games. The Canadiens open the regular season September 29 in Toronto.
