Alex Newhook

So weird, dude.

Now bringing Newie, New- Alex Newhook onto a favorite fan of the show, friend of the show, I should say here, onto that third line, which I've been saying for the longest time is gonna unlock.

Like Alex Newhook is gonna be so good this year.

He was good to begin with.

He would've got points on the second line.

I've been saying for years, get him on the third, improve this team, the top six to put Alex Newhook in that position.

And when injuries come, he can plug in, in a flash.

Hell, heck, he can even play 2C in, in a pinch as well, right? Like Chris Kreider's playing that physical game, which I think is helps really for a guy like Kappy and Demidov, where you got somebody bringing a little bit more of that physical edge.

Ouais.

Et avec Newhook.

On sait que l'an passé, la majorité de la saison, c'était quand Newhook était pas blessé, c'était Newhook avec Demidov et Kapanen.

Et là ensuite, quand Newhook était blessé, Slafkovsky a descendu sur jouer sur ce trio-là avec Kapanen puis Demidov.

Et Texier, Bolduc étaient en alternation, en, en rotation, rotation ?

En rotation, ouais.

I don't know what that means.

Uh, I've always made the assumption that, uh, that with no trade, that they would roll back with Newhook and, uh, Newhook and Demidov with, with Kaapanen.

He looked good last season.

Uh, playoffs got to be too much for him, and there was always, I guess, uh, a bit of concern that he wasn't driving his line enough.

Uh, if, if Don Waddell and the Blue Jackets are looking for more immediate, uh, return for, for roster players, the Canadians have to come up with something that's going to be attractive enough to pull that off.

So, you know, could, could it, could it involve a Zachary Bolduc? Could it involve Newhook, uh, Kapanen, uh, a m- a mix of those guys, uh, or a pick or a defenseman, too? But it's, it's okay to say, "Oh, the Canadians have some good prospects and they have, they're willing to part with their first-round picks," but the market right now is asking, you know, for Marchenko, but f- in other cases around the league, the market is focused on immediate assets.

So I, I'm, I'm keeping an eye on that, too, because I wonder if a guy like Zachary Bolduc, who they acquired a year ago, uh, you know, could it be part of something like that? So I don't know.

It's, uh-

Uh, I mean, you know, the Canadiens, you know, we just finished talking about Marchenko.

The reason they wanted Marchenko is 'cause they have a hole in their top six, um, opposite Ivan Demidov on that wing.

Um, a bunch of candidates to fill that hole internally, but none of whom are really ideal candidates, you know, with maybe with the exception of Newhook.

But, um, so yeah, there's, there's a need there.

Um, do you see, like, like, who's the ideal line mate, do you think, for Demidov?

Uh, I think Alex Newhook has a job to lose in their top six, right?

Right.

He was fantastic in the playoffs.

Uh, at one point they had Slafkovsky move, uh, onto the line with them.

Um, so the fact that, uh, he, he wasn't able to cut it for the playoffs, was it the season, you know, adjusting to the, to the 82-game season in North America? Did he run out of gas? Uh, was his game where it needs to be to play, uh, playoff hockey? It's going to be interesting to see, uh, where he lands, because that second line center, uh, is crucial for the Canadiens right now, and it kinda looks like it's going to be Alex Newhook.

Um, I, I think the Canadiens would love if, if Kirby Dach became, somehow became that, that second line center, but injuries have just, you know, uh, really devastated his, his, and interrupted his progress all through his NHL career.

That's another concern for Kaiden Guhle.

Uh, but actually, you know what? We'll start with the forwards here.

Uh, I will say Kirby Dach was playing the 2C today, which was interesting, right? He was there between Alex Newhook and Ivan Demidov.

Third line, whatever, was Bolduc, Danault, Texier.

Fourth line, bottom six is basically what it is, Anderson, Evans, and Kapanen.