The main reason why Hughes acquired Newhook is: Hughes being previously his agent believed he knew him better and could turn his game around. Hughes made a beginner's mistake twice in his first 2 years as a GM: if a team gives up so early on promising young players, it had to be serious reasons why they let go Dach and Newhook…we see now why !!!
Newhook would make a great third line forward unless is ceiling is higher than that and could still get better but when the Canadiens acquired him that was not what they acquired him to be.
Much like a Stock Broker/Fund Manager, NHL GM's don't nail it on every deal. You have to consider the situation they are in with a massive amount of LTIR to be managed, and some bad contracts. But if you examine trade trees there are examples of making it work out down the road i.e having to trade Lehkonen due to cap room and rebuild needs, and then trading a promising D who didn't work out for a reliable D in Carrier. But in Newhook's case, it's hard to see them getting anything of value down the road…and I'm concerned that the entire defacto 2nd line with Laine and Dach are trade trees that will dead end in the same way.
Slavkosky and Dach are both lazy players who play well when they feel like it, to me Slavkosky is a major problem going forward since he seems to feel he deserves first line minutes. When he was on the second line earlier in the season he would drag his feet until the coach felt he had to promote him up, I would have sent him to Laval for a couple of months to straighten him up between the ears. Newhook is fast with no grit and hands so he is what you see out there. Those three players are holding back the progress for the Habs right now. Laine was also a mistake IMO.
Kirby dach is big and tough you have to give him a chance to turn it around but Alex newhook gives you nothing take what you can get and move on from him .
Enough of those marginal trade to aquire patches and/or “maybes”
Those picks used to aquire garbage patches like Dach and newhook should have be package together to aquire some established proven talent
Imagine what you could get if you put the picks Hugues wasted on those two together instead of individually trading them?
Put those 2x 1st rounders and that 2nd rounder together along another player and you’d easily find an impact player
Why are Montreal so scared of packaging picks and prospects to go aquire their missing piece? They have more prospects and picks that they know what to do with! What are those mid to late 1st rounder worth? Dach, reinbacher, newhook, Mesar ?… even in 2024 when they traded 3 picks to move up for Hage ? Why ? The 26th overall turned out to be Greentree! You can be bias all you want, Hage isn’t all that and not even close of been as good as Liam Grenntree , a 6’4 , 220 lbs winger who averages almost two points a game in the OHL!
Montreal scouting sucks , they were lucky with Hutson and there would have been a riot in Montreal if they didn’t pick demidov after botching that michkov pick!
3 years later , 3 brutal drafts , horrible trades . So far Hugues hasn’t been better than bergevin
I don’t understand why we can’t keep Evans, who has 27 points and is a defensive specialist, but we can keep Dach with 22 points and Newhook with 18 points, who aren’t as good defensively.
22 Comments
The main reason why Hughes acquired Newhook is: Hughes being previously his agent believed he knew him better and could turn his game around. Hughes made a beginner's mistake twice in his first 2 years as a GM: if a team gives up so early on promising young players, it had to be serious reasons why they let go Dach and Newhook…we see now why !!!
Which team is going to take Montreal cast offs for parts that are difference makers?
Newhook is super fast but he doesn't complete his plays. he'll skate all the way to the blue line than loses the puck
Once he's over the blue line he's lost
Newhook would make a great third line forward unless is ceiling is higher than that and could still get better but when the Canadiens acquired him that was not what they acquired him to be.
Much like a Stock Broker/Fund Manager, NHL GM's don't nail it on every deal. You have to consider the situation they are in with a massive amount of LTIR to be managed, and some bad contracts. But if you examine trade trees there are examples of making it work out down the road i.e having to trade Lehkonen due to cap room and rebuild needs, and then trading a promising D who didn't work out for a reliable D in Carrier. But in Newhook's case, it's hard to see them getting anything of value down the road…and I'm concerned that the entire defacto 2nd line with Laine and Dach are trade trees that will dead end in the same way.
Slavkosky and Dach are both lazy players who play well when they feel like it, to me Slavkosky is a major problem going forward since he seems to feel he deserves first line minutes. When he was on the second line earlier in the season he would drag his feet until the coach felt he had to promote him up, I would have sent him to Laval for a couple of months to straighten him up between the ears. Newhook is fast with no grit and hands so he is what you see out there. Those three players are holding back the progress for the Habs right now. Laine was also a mistake IMO.
Newhook = 3rd or 4th line support staff or trade bait…not much more…
Bring in wison and olivier to protect our smaller players or bring up wifi brother at least then we can watch some fun games
I'm sick of players who give us glimpses of what they can do every now and then. We need consistent performers who can put the puck in the net.
Olivier on the verge of becoming a UFA! Same as Bennett! We need guys like this! We are known as a soft team! Time to toughen up for the long haul!
The whole second line is a project
Laine needs a faceoff winning 2nd line centre and a playmaking winger
Newhook is a 3rd line energy winger
Dach needs to win faceoffs PERIOD I don’t mind the rest of his game
But asking Laine to be winning the puck back after every lost faceoff isn’t worth crying about
newhook is a 3rd or 4th liner with great speed, if he can penalty kill he would be an asset, but if he is moved thats fine too
Kirby dach is big and tough you have to give him a chance to turn it around but Alex newhook gives you nothing take what you can get and move on from him .
Enough of those marginal trade to aquire patches and/or “maybes”
Those picks used to aquire garbage patches like Dach and newhook should have be package together to aquire some established proven talent
Imagine what you could get if you put the picks Hugues wasted on those two together instead of individually trading them?
Put those 2x 1st rounders and that 2nd rounder together along another player and you’d easily find an impact player
Why are Montreal so scared of packaging picks and prospects to go aquire their missing piece? They have more prospects and picks that they know what to do with! What are those mid to late 1st rounder worth? Dach, reinbacher, newhook, Mesar ?… even in 2024 when they traded 3 picks to move up for Hage ? Why ? The 26th overall turned out to be Greentree! You can be bias all you want, Hage isn’t all that and not even close of been as good as Liam Grenntree , a 6’4 , 220 lbs winger who averages almost two points a game in the OHL!
Montreal scouting sucks , they were lucky with Hutson and there would have been a riot in Montreal if they didn’t pick demidov after botching that michkov pick!
3 years later , 3 brutal drafts , horrible trades . So far Hugues hasn’t been better than bergevin
NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!
No
Heineman is younger and already better then Newhook.
I never saw anything in him from the start. Just not the right guy at this time.
Newhook has no grit, nor is he a reliable player, gotta go.
I don’t understand why we can’t keep Evans, who has 27 points and is a defensive specialist, but we can keep Dach with 22 points and Newhook with 18 points, who aren’t as good defensively.
The team does need more sandpaper and grit.