Canadiens general manager Kent Hughes holds two first-round picks at this year’s NHL Draft slated for June 28 in Las Vegas (fifth overall and between 24th and 27th overall) and it would be a surprise if he doesn’t use that second pick as part of a trade to acquire a potential top-six forward, like he did with Dach and Newhook.
Hughes gave up a first-round pick (13th overall) and a third-round pick the day of the 2022 draft in order to acquire Dach from the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks used the first-round pick to select centre Frank Nazar, who had 17-24-41 totals in 41 games this season at the University of Michigan before making his NHL debut and scoring one goal in three games with the Blackhawks.
The Canadiens GM gave up a first-round pick (31st overall), a second-round pick and minor-league defenceman Gianni Fairbrother the day before last year’s draft in order to acquire Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche used the first-round pick to select Russian defenceman Mikhail Gulyayev, who had 4-8-12 totals in 64 games this season with Omsk Avangard in the KHL.
Injuries have limited Dach to 60 games over two seasons with the Canadiens, including only two this season because of a serious knee injury. Dach has shown lots of potential when he has played, but the big question moving forward is can he stay healthy?
Newhook is coming off an impressive season, especially when you consider he missed 27 games because of a high ankle sprain suffered on Nov. 30. The 23-year-old finished with 15-19-34 totals in 55 games and played his best after returning from injury. In the last 13 games, Newhook had 5-7-12 totals while playing centre on a line with Brendan Gallagher and Joel Armia. During the last 13 games, Gallagher had 5-6-11 totals, while Armia had 6-3-9 totals. That’s 16 goals from that trio in 13 games.
Depending on what Hughes does during the off-season, that could be an effective line to start next season. Gallagher plays his best when he’s on a fixed line, like he was with Phillip Danault and Tomas Tatar in 2018-19 when he scored 33 goals. Gallagher started this season with Sean Monahan and Tanner Pearson and scored five goals in the first 14 games.
Armia scored a career-high 17 goals in 66 games after twice being sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket. Armia will be heading into the final season of his contract with a US$3.4 million salary-cap hit and you have to think the 30-year-old will want to show he deserves another contract — whether it’s from the Canadiens or another team. Another strong season could make Armia a valuable commodity at next year’s trade deadline.
Newhook struggled at centre early this season and looked much more comfortable on the wing. But after returning from his injury, he showed he can play centre in the NHL, which will give head coach Martin St. Louis options next season.
“I was given a runway when I came back to kind of embrace the role as a centremen,” Newhook said at the end of the season. “We had a lot of centremen out and it was my time to step up, kind of next-man-up mentality in that role. I tried to embrace it. I thought my faceoffs got a lot better, which is a big part I tried to focus on. I thought our line did a pretty good job since I was back to be a contributor most nights, be a difference-maker most nights. Prove to myself, prove to everyone around that I can be a guy that can be relied on in both areas and help this team to become a winning team.”
The Canadiens need to find more forwards who can provide offence or this rebuild won’t work. Hughes is aware of that after the Canadiens ranked 26th in the NHL in offence this season, averaging 2.83 goals per game, despite getting 48 goals from their defencemen, the fourth-most in the league.
Hughes will certainly be looking to acquire at least one more forward with top-six potential — like Dach and Newhook — who might flourish under head coach Martin St. Louis.
“It was a treat, honestly,” Newhook said about being coached by the Hall of Fame player. “Really enjoyed getting to work with him. He’s got such a great mind for the game. Such a great perspective in a lot of areas — on the ice, away from the ice, too. He’s a guy who’s been around the game for a long time.
“Just to have that one-on-one kind of perspective from him is pretty cool,” Newhook added about St. Louis. “I think I learned a lot from him only in my first year and got a lot of runway here to keep working with him and keep building, keep learning, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Now, we need to wait to see what happens at the draft.
