On July 1, Kraken general manager Ron Francis announced that he had signed defender and Stanley Cup champion (2024, Florida Panthers) Brandon Montour to a seven-year deal with Seattle. A strong skater who can play big minutes, the 30-year-old knows what it takes to play fast and feed offense from defense. With the Kraken, he is expected to continue to see significant time both at even strength and on the power play.
You’ve heard about his strong skating, his stellar 73-point season (16-57-73, 2022-23) and his ability to play a whopping 23:26 ice time per game (25th among NHL skaters), including 3:54 of power play time per game (13th most in the league). But what should we know about what Montour can bring on the ice beyond a quick glance at point totals and the championship pedigree?
Let’s dig in.
Stop (the opponent) and then Go
The Kraken are at their best when their defense doesn’t just stop opponents’ attack, it quickly gains possession and becomes the jump start that moves the puck up the ice for an offensive push from Seattle skaters.
This won’t be anything new to Montour.
According to Corey Sznajder’s All Three Zones project, when it comes to getting the puck away from the other team, Montour has strong forechecking ability – effectively pressuring opponents when they are in the offensive zone. The blueliner also delivered 5.65 hits per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play last year (per Evolving-Hockey.com) – almost one hit more than he took – putting him in the top two of Florida defenders in terms of hits plus-minus and top three among the Kraken last year.
And once he got the puck loose – via those pressures or hits – Montour knew what to do there, too. Last year, the Brantford, ONT native ranked among the best in successful puck retrievals that led to zone exits (per All Three Zones), and Sportlogiq ranked him 43rd (among 274 defensemen with at least 100 minutes of even strength time) in loose puck recoveries in the defensive zone. No Seattle or Florida blueliner ranked higher.
Watch here how Montour (FLA 62) perfectly uses a shoulder check to read the oncoming forecheck by Montreal and then uses body and stick positioning to protect space, allowing him to ultimately get the puck up to his teammate. After that, Florida is able to effectively transition to the offensive zone and begin their own attack.
