I always get a kick out of the speed comments about Newhook. Speed is not what hurts Newhook at center, it is his overall skating. Being fast doesn't make you a good skater (and let's be real, Newhook gets to top speed maybe once a game... takes him way too long to get there).
I do expect Montreal to give him a run there and maybe keep it beyond Dvorak coming back. They forced it with Dach and are likely to force it here too. They don't have anything to really lose by giving it extended looks. And in a more limited, one side of the ice tilted role, it may work.