The Montreal Canadiens are trying to build themselves back up into a Stanley Cup contender, and have been busy at work early on in the NHL offseason. That continued on Tuesday afternoon, when they pulled off a deal with the Colorado Avalanche for Alex Newhook, sending over a first and second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Gianni Fairbrother in exchange for the talented young center.

The Canadiens made a late push to pull off a trade for Pierre-Luc Dubois, but decided to lock onto Newhook when it became clear that Dubois would be headed to the Los Angeles Kings. Newhook had a somewhat disappointing season for the Avs last year, tallying just 14 goals and 16 assists despite the fact that he played in all 82 games for Colorado.

Newhook will be looking to get a fresh start with the Canadiens, although that's not 100 percent likely to happen. Newhook is a restricted free agent, and while Montreal has the rights to sign him to a deal as a restricted free agent (which is very likely to happen) an extension between these two sides was not agreed upon before the deal was completed.

Via Chris Johnston:

“Alex Newhook is a restricted free agent. He doesn't have an extension in place with the Habs yet.”

Again, there's a very good chance that Newhook will sign a deal with the Canadiens, but it is something to keep an eye on over the next few days. Montreal made a pretty big investment for the young center, and it will be interesting to see if he is able to reach his full potential with his new team after this fairly surprising trade off the Avalanche.