They traded the picks because the floor is the likely pay off if they hit on one of those picks and the ceiling was higher.
The thing now is even if Newhook finds 2nd line upside he's unlikely to play there. We will draft a forward with one of our two picks in this draft. We acquired Laine. We drafted Demidov and Hage. There's only so many top 6 spots. His speed is an element we needed and so I'm sure they won't lose any sleep if they have Newhook to move between L1 and 3 depending on where he fits and supplies the right complement to the players on that line.
Depending on how the season progresses, I no longer feel that Newhook shouldn't be a player that can dealt. He was never untouchable, I just felt that it was just a too soon to give up on him.
Would you believe Newhook to be a young player? I don't anymore: Given this is his 4th NHL season, the average age of NHL player careers being roughly 5 NHL seasons or 410 games, I would argue he is now in the middle of his career.
I feel the Habs thought he could be a mid to top 2nd line player and what we got, arguable, is a very good 3rd line player. I am officially ready (not pushing for it at this very moment, but he will eventually be replaced) to give up on him, whenever that moment comes.