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Brandon Montour

Kraken Place Jared McCann On IR; Brandon Montour Returns To Team

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The Kraken appear to be set to welcome back a key blueliner to their lineup tonight against Edmonton.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Brandon Montour has returned to the team after stepping away last weekend on a leave of absence to attend to a family matter; Montour revealed soon after that his brother passed away following a battle with ALS.  To make room for him on the roster, forward Jared McCann has been placed on injured reserve.

Montour had gotten off to a strong start before his leave, notching four assists in his first four games of the season while logging nearly 23 minutes a night of playing time.  That usage was in line with how he was deployed in 2024-25 in his first season in Seattle, one that saw him record 18 goals and 23 assists in 81 appearances while averaging 22:59 per night.  That was a particularly strong showing in the first season of a seven-year, $50MM contract signed last summer.

The Kraken only had six blueliners on their active roster which is why it made sense for McCann to be the corresponding move instead of another defender.  With Montour returning, Cale Fleury will likely lose his spot in the lineup.

As for McCann, he has missed the last week with a lower-body injury.  Assuming that Seattle has back-dated that placement, he’ll be eligible to be activated at any time.  He had also gotten off to a strong start to the season before the injury, picking up three goals and an assist in his first outings, producing at largely the same rate he has offensively over the past several seasons.

Brandon Montour Taking Temporary Leave Of Absence From Kraken

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The Kraken will be without their top defender for the next little while.  The team announced (Twitter link) that Brandon Montour will be taking a temporary leave of absence from the team to tend to a family matter.  No further details will be provided by the club.

The 31-year-old had gotten off to a strong start for Seattle this season.  Through four games, Montour leads the team in assists with four through four games while those four points are tied for the team lead.  He’s also their team leader in playing time, averaging just under 23 minutes per game.  That comes on the heels of playing a similar role last season when he notched 18 goals and 23 assists in 81 games while logging 22:59 per contest, a solid first season with the Kraken after signing a seven-year contract with them as an unrestricted free agent.

With Ryker Evans yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury, Seattle’s defensive depth is going to get tested a little more now.  Cale Fleury has been the reserve defender for each game so far and in the short term, it makes sense that he would take Montour’s place in the lineup.

If Montour’s absence winds up taking some time, the Kraken might want to recall someone from AHL Coachella Valley to ensure that they have some depth available, especially with four games to go on their season-opening eight-game road trip.  While they have a full 23-player roster at the moment, they would be able to designate Montour to non-roster status to open up a slot to recall someone into if they decide to go that route.

Injury Updates: Kraken, Holloway, Hayes, Woo

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The Kraken announced (Twitter links) that defenseman Brandon Montour is set to miss the next two weeks after undergoing a procedure to remove a bursa on his ankle.  The 31-year-old fit in rather well in his first season with Seattle, notching a career-best 18 goals while his 41 points were the second-most he’d had in a single season.  The timeline suggests that he still should be available to start the season but he might not get into any preseason action.

Meanwhile, the team also provided injury updates on several other players.  Veteran forward Max McCormick is out indefinitely and won’t participate in training camp.  He wasn’t up with the Kraken last season so there won’t be a prorated cap charge while he sits on season-opening IR.  Also, winger Lleyton Roed is expected to miss the next two months with an upper-body injury while forward Nathan Villeneuve is out with a lower-body injury that is still pending evaluation.  Villeneuve isn’t able to play full-time in the minors this season so he will likely be returned to OHL Sudbury when he’s cleared to return.

Other injury notes from around the NHL:

  • Blues winger Dylan Holloway underwent abdominal surgery after sustaining an early in early April that kept him out for the stretch run and playoffs. However, team reporter Chris Pinkert relays that the 23-year-old was a full participant at practice today while Holloway indicated that the injury wound up healing quicker than originally anticipated, allowing him to get a good summer of training in.  It’s already a contract year for and after putting up 63 points in a breakout effort last season, Holloway appears to be in line for a significant raise on the $2.29MM he’ll be making this season.
  • Penguins center Kevin Hayes left practice early today after taking a hit from Ryan Graves. Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review relays (Twitter link) that head coach Dan Muse didn’t have an immediate update after practice and that he’s still being evaluated.  The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his contract and is coming off a relatively quiet year last season where he scored just 13 goals and 10 assists in 64 games, his first year with Pittsburgh.
  • Canucks defenseman Jett Woo underwent surgery to repair an upper-body injury this summer and is listed as out month-to-month, relays Patrick Johnston of the Vancouver Province. He played through the injury to help AHL Abbotsford win the Calder Cup back in the spring.  The 25-year-old had 18 points in 67 games in the minors last season but will be waiting a while to make his 2025-26 debut.

Pacific Notes: Gudas, Sharks, Montour

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While it looked as if Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas would need surgery to address a lingering knee issue, he noted to NHL.com’s Michael Langr that he ultimately didn’t need it and that he was able to recover simply through rehab.  The 35-year-old still managed to play in 81 games last season despite the injury, recording a dozen points, 178 blocked shots, and 261 hits in just under 20 minutes a night of playing time.  Now entering the final season of his three-year, $12MM contract signed two years ago, Gudas added that there have yet to be any extension talks but that he understands there are other priorities for GM Pat Verbeek to be dealing with at this time.

Elsewhere in the Pacific:

  • The City of San Jose and the Sharks have released a Memorandum of Understanding that could keep the Sharks in town for many more years. Pending ratification from City Council later this month, the deal would see the arena undergo a $425MM renovation over a seven-year span with the city funding $325MM of that and the team $100MM.  In return, the Sharks would agree to extend their stay in San Jose through at least the 2050-51 season.  Their current arena is now more than 30 years old and has yet to undergo a significant renovation.  Notably, it’s mentioned in the document that it is not feasible for the Sharks to stay at the renovated facility for the entire term of that agreement and that both sides will work to find a prospective location for a new arena district.
  • After not making Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, Kraken blueliner Brandon Montour opted to accept an invitation to the Worlds back in May in the hopes of improving his chances of being selected to play in the Olympics. He fared quite well in the tournament, tying for the lead in points by a defenseman with nine.  Accordingly, NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger suggests that the 31-year-old may now have a viable shot at making the roster, especially with GM Doug Armstrong suggesting that in-season performance and not just their track record will go a long way toward determining the final roster.  Montour had a career-best 18 goals in his first season with Seattle in 2024-25 and will look to build off that this season.

Team Canada Announces Initial World Championship Roster

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Hockey Canada has followed up news of their World Championship coaching staff by announcing the first 15 players on their tournament roster. The team is a healthy mix between veteran NHL experience and burgeoning stars. That includes reigning first overall draft pick Macklin Celebrini, who will receive his first chance to join Canada’s Men’s team. Celebrini will operate down a loaded center depth chart, behind NHL stars Bo Horvat and Ryan O’Reilly.

Celebrini is the headliner, but Canada will embrace a major youth movement with this lineup. They’re also bringing young forward Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, as well as defenseman Ryker Evans. All three players proved their worth as everyday NHL talents this season – Fantilli with a 30-goal season, Johnson with 57 points, and Evans with a routine top-four role in Seattle. Interestingly, the roster does not yet contain 2023 first-overall pick Connor Bedard, who scored eight points in 10 tourney games last summer.

Team Canada has also invited 22-year-old goaltender Dylan Garand – the only invitee to not spend the entire season in the NHL. Garand instead served as the starter for the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack, where he managed a .913 save percentage and 20-10-8 record. He’ll likely be the third-string goaltender once Canada adds more experienced pros currently in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Evans’ role on defense will be sheltered by major supports in the form of MacKenzie Weegar, Noah Dobson, Brandon Montour, and Travis Sanheim. All four players are top defensemen for their NHL clubs and collectively form a very experienced blue-line for the international lineup. None of Canada’s first five defense invites were on the World Championship roster last year.

The current roster is as follows:

F Macklin Celebrini (Sharks)
F William Cuylle (Rangers)
F Adam Fantilli (Blue Jackets)
F Tyson Foerster (Flyers)
F Barrett Hayton (Hockey Club)
F Bo Horvat (Islanders)
F Kent Johnson (Blue Jackets)
F Travis Konecny (Flyers)
F Ryan O’Reilly (Predators)

D Noah Dobson (Islanders)
D Ryker Evans (Kraken)
D Brandon Montour (Kraken)
D Travis Sanheim (Flyers)
D MacKenzie Weegar (Flames)

G Dylan Garand (Rangers)

West Notes: Joshua, Seguin, Montour

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Canucks forward Dakota Joshua participated in a full practice on Friday as he gets closer to returning from testicular cancer, relays Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre.  The 28-year-old went from a depth player earlier in his career to a key part of Vancouver’s bottom-six forward group while setting career highs in goals (18), assists (14), points (32), and hits (235) in 63 games last season.  That helped him earn a four-year, $13MM extension back in June to avoid free agency.  Despite being LTIR-eligible, Vancouver never moved Joshua there so they won’t have to worry about having to get cap-compliant when he’s able to return which should happen sometime over the next few days.  With Nils Aman on waivers today, it appears they’re getting ready to open up the spot for Joshua to return.

More from the Western Conference:

  • Stars center Tyler Seguin was scratched from the second and final Global Series game today; the team announced (Twitter link) that he’s listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. The 32-year-old is off to a good start to his season, notching five goals and four assists in seven games.  However, this is already the second time he has missed time to a lower-body issue after missing three games last month as well which could be cause for concern if it’s a problem that might linger for Seguin.
  • After missing Thursday’s game in Toronto for the birth of his second child, Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour has returned to the team and will play tonight versus Ottawa, notes team broadcaster Piper Shaw (Twitter link). The 30-year-old is in his first season with Seattle after signing a seven-year, $50MM contract on the opening day of free agency.  He has fared quite well with his new team so far, picking up four goals and five assists in his first ten games while recording a hat-trick on Tuesday against Montreal.  Since Montour was never removed from the active roster, no corresponding move is necessary for him to return.

Pacific Notes: Celebrini, Montour, Brännström, Bains

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Sharks rookie center Macklin Celebrini returned to the ice today for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in the season opener, the team relayed to reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He’s now missed 10 games with the ailment and will miss his 11th tonight when San Jose hosts the Blackhawks. There’s still no change in his status, the team stressed – he remains week-to-week, so it could be well into November before the 2024 first-overall pick hits the ice again.

The 18-year-old’s NHL debut against the Blues earlier this month was a mixed bag. He scored his first NHL goal and added an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss. But he went just 1-for-14 on faceoffs, and he was hemmed in at even strength. The Sharks were out-attempted 31-12 with Celebrini on the ice.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a tough go for the Sharks with or without Celebrini in the lineup. They remain last in the league with a 2-7-2 record, although they have rattled off back-to-back wins against Utah and the Kings. Their 2.45 goals per game are up slightly from last year’s 2.20, and Celebrini should both help and stand to benefit from that offensive uptick under first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division:

  • The Kraken will be without their top two offensive defenders against the Maple Leafs tonight. Vince Dunn is already on long-term injured reserve, and Brandon Montour will now be out as he heads home to be present for the birth of his daughter, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports. With Dunn missing most of the young campaign, Montour has taken the reins and is tied for second on the team in scoring with four goals and five assists in 10 games. He’s averaging 23:42 per game and had his first career hat trick in his most recent outing, an 8-2 win over the Canadiens on Tuesday. It’s been a strong start for the 30-year-old, who signed a seven-year, $50MM contract with the Kraken in free agency over the summer.
  • The Canucks have papered defenseman Erik Brännström and winger Arshdeep Bains down to AHL Abbotsford, a move they’ve made multiple times this season to accrue cap space and delay the expiration of the former’s waiver exemption. Both will be back on the roster ahead of Saturday’s game in San Jose. Brännström especially has been strong in a depth role since coming over from the Avalanche in an early season trade, posting an assist and a +3 rating in six appearances while averaging 14:15 per game. The Canucks have controlled 53.5% of shot attempts with him on the ice at even strength.

West Notes: Perfetti, Montour, Jones, Oilers GM Search

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Last season had its ups and downs for Jets forward Cole Perfetti.  The 22-year-old was briefly tested down the middle before moving back to the wing while he put together a career year offensively with 19 goals and 19 assists in 71 games.  However, he also spent time as a healthy scratch late in the year, not exactly the type of ending he wanted for his platform year heading into restricted free agency for the first time.

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press examined Winnipeg’s history with former first-round picks as restricted free agents under GM Kevin Cheveldayoff, noting that six out of the ten wound up signing bridge deals.  He feels Perfetti is likely to follow the trend, suggesting that a two-year bridge pact around $3MM per season might be the right price point for him and the Jets.

More from out West:

  • New Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour acknowledged in an interview on TSN 1050 (audio link) that he had talks with the Maple Leafs before eventually signing with Seattle. Toronto made multiple changes on the back end this summer with the additions of Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson while Jani Hakanpaa’s deal still has not been registered.  Montour landed a seven-year, $50MM deal with the Kraken, good for the second-highest AAV on the team behind blueliner Vince Dunn.
  • Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News wonders if a reunion between the Sharks and Martin Jones could make sense. GM Mike Grier acknowledged earlier this month that he still wants to add a third-string netminder, presumably one that has some NHL experience.  Jones had that role in Toronto last season where he started in the minors but wound up getting into 22 games with the big club, posting a 2.87 GAA with a .902 SV%.  While San Jose is still paying Jones for three more years from a 2021 buyout, that won’t preclude them from signing him if they want to.
  • As the Oilers continue their GM search, David Staples of the Edmonton Journal proposes Brian Lawton as a possible dark horse candidate for the position. Lawton hasn’t worked in the NHL since 2009-10 when he was the GM of Tampa Bay but he also has several years of experience as an agent.  Both perspectives certainly could be appealing to CEO Jeff Jackson, a former agent himself, who is currently serving as Edmonton’s interim GM.  Jackson noted earlier this week that he’d like to have a new GM in place within the next couple of weeks.

Snapshots: Norris, Contracts, Maple Leafs

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Pat MaGuire of The Hockey News writes that Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris appears to be healthy and set for NHL training camp in September. The 25-year-old wasn’t in the same position a year ago and spent much of the season chasing things before his season ended this past February. Norris underwent his third shoulder surgery, leaving plenty of question marks about whether or not he will be available for the entirety of this season.

Norris was initially acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Erik Karlsson trade and blossomed into a 35-goal scorer in 2021-22, he then signed an eight-year $63.6MM contract extension and has only played in 58 games since then over the past two seasons. The Senators will be counting on a healthy Norris this season as his absence has negatively impacted their forward depth the last two years. A healthy Norris allows for Ottawa to deploy Shane Pinto on the third line which creates a better balance throughout their top nine forward group.

In other notes from around the league.

  • Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic released a list of the ten worst contracts in the NHL. Unsurprisingly, Calgary Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau and his seven years at $10.5MM annually topped the list. Luszczyszyn’s modelling showed that Huberdeau’s projected value was just $4.9MM annually making his contract the worst value in the league. Chandler Stephenson and Tom Wilson rounded out the top three worst contracts. Stephenson’s deal with the Seattle Kraken is just two weeks old and could turn out to be a disaster if the modelling is correct. Wilson on the other hand has seven years left on his deal that will carry him from age 30-37 and the modelling predicts he will be a third-line player by the third year of the deal.
  • Seattle Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour spoke with TSN OverDrive to discuss his recent run through free agency. Montour told Mark Roe and Frank Corrado that he talked with the Toronto Maple Leafs about signing in Toronto. Montour added that he was excited by the possibility and considered signing with the team, but added that he had a ton of options in free agency and was grateful to ultimately sign a seven-year, $49.98MM deal with the Kraken. The Maple Leafs interest in Montour isn’t all that surprising given the focus they put on improving their defense, which they did by signing Chris Tanev and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Brandon Montour To Sign Seven-Year Deal With Kraken

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The Kraken are landing arguably the top defenseman on the free agent market. Brandon Montour will sign in Seattle on a seven-year deal worth roughly $50MM in total, reports TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman confirms the contract value, which translates to a $7.14MM cap hit.

Montour will remain in Seattle through the 2030-31 season. He’ll be 37 years old when his deal expires, meaning this pact will cover the remainder of his prime – and perhaps his career.

After spending the first few years of his career with up and down results through stops with the Ducks and Sabres, Montour has emerged as a bonafide top-pairing threat in Florida over the past two seasons. He broke out in a big way in 2022-23, putting up a monster offensive season with 16 goals, 57 assists and 73 points in 80 games while posting a +9 rating and 107 PIMs. That earned him 12th place in Norris Trophy voting, as his performance from the blue line was a key reason why the Panthers advanced to the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, only their second in franchise history.

This year was a step back for Montour, who began the season on injured reserve after sustaining a shoulder injury in the playoffs. Upon his return, he was still effective, although the points didn’t come with the same ferocity. He finished the year with 33 points in 66 games, a 41-point pace. It was much more in line with his career average, but the key difference was the minutes he logged. Like last season, he remained above average while shouldering heavy usage, averaging 23:27 per game.

Montour will now form an exceptional one-two punch on the right side of Seattle’s defense along with Adam Larsson. He’s unlikely to see first-pairing minutes at even strength alongside Vince Dunn, their primary power-play man and offensive threat from the blue line. That role will stay with Larsson, but Montour could still see heavy minutes in a second-pairing role alongside Jamie Oleksiak on his left flank.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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