No no-trade clause for Alex Newhook: perfect for the expansion

I guess the Canadiens' offseason has finally begun. Hehe.

Several months after signing Ivan Demidov and Jakub Dobes, the Canadiens have recently signed Zachary Bolduc, Chris Kreider, Martin St-Louis, Arber Xhekaj, and Alex Newhook in the last few days.

Yeah, things have been pretty busy the last few days.

Xhekaj's contract helps the team get better aligned for this season, and Newhook's contract provides clarity for next year. And in both cases, that can be helpful.

Especially for Kirill Marchenko…

Currently, according to the PuckPedia website, the Canadiens have $2.78 million in cap space. This includes dead money (deferred payments, Brendan Gallagher's salary hold, etc.) and 23 players—including three goaltenders.

To potentially make a move, the Canadiens will likely need to free up some salary cap space, depending on which player they want to acquire… and how the Samuel Montembeault situation is handled.

From the source Good news! No three-way battle for the starting goaltender spot is expected for the #CH this season.

It remains to be seen whether Samuel Montembeault will find a new home (or end up in Laval via waivers?) or if the team will opt to send Jacob Fowler back down to the Rocket.

From the source Stay tuned! #Habs #Canadiens https://t.co/13MBi8ewHe

The fact that Alex Newhook is under contract through 2031 gives Kent Hughes greater clarity in planning the organization's future.

For example? Kiri—okay, we get it, the Habs wanted him.

But it will also allow Kent Hughes to prepare for the NHL expansion that's coming up fast. Why? Because Newhook doesn't have a no-trade clause.

He could therefore be placed on the trade block if the Canadiens decide to do so in 2029, the projected date for the addition of at least one new franchise to the National Hockey League.

From the source The #GoHabsGo signed 25-year-old forward Alex Newhook to a four-year contract with a $5.55M cap hit

Yr 1: $5.75M salary, $1.5M signing bonus ; Yr 2: $4.7M, $1.5M SB ; Yr 3: $4.4M salary ; Yr 4: $4.35M salary

The deal does not include any trade protection

From the source Represented by Paul Capizzano @QuartexxHockey…

If we set aside the expansion, Newhook has some built-in trade protection. As Renaud Lavoie said this morning on BPM Sports, if the player doesn't perform, teams won't want his contract. And if he does well, the Habs will want to keep him.

Ultimately, it's a great contract from the Canadiens.

From the source New, for @TheAthletic: Mats Sundin built a quiet life in Sweden after his NHL career ended. Now he's fully back in the #leafs fishbowl https://t.co/hBur44Cp88

– One more year in Carolina for Eric Staal.

Hurricanes announce a one-year extension for Jordan Staal through the 2027–28 season

$4M signing bonus , $900K salary

Up to $5.1M in additional performance bonuses

Somewhere, Lou Lamoriello just felt a little queasy.