Brandon Montour has struggled to fill a consistent role with his team. He was initially drafted by the Anaheim Ducks back in 2014. Since then, he has bounced from Anaheim to the Buffalo Sabres and now to the Florida Panthers. Now starting his first full season with Florida, Montour has fit in well in Sunrise.
Brandon Montour Finds Role with Florida
He has been playing with the Florida Panthers for just 29 games now, soon to be 30 against Minnesota. Brandon Montour has established himself as one of the team’s prominent puck-moving defencemen. Playing for disappointing teams like the Ducks and Sabres, Montour is not the guy to lead the charge. But, he has extreme value in a secondary role. Since he has been in Florida, Montour has averaged less playing time. Albeit just about two minutes less, that is a significant amount of time in a hockey game. Ranking in the line-up behind Aaron Ekblad and MacKenzie Weegar has benefitted Montour thus far.
During his time with the Panthers, Montour has played to what was expected. Montour has been a part of a highly lethal defensive group within the Panthers locker room as a smooth-skating, two-way defenceman. During this season, Montour has scored two goals, and nine points in his 17 games played this year. He has also been given the reigns on the second power-play unit. One can see Montour’s confidence when out on the ice, whether he has the puck on his stick or is placing himself in correct positioning nine times out of 10. Montour’s 2021-22 season campaign has been one for the personal record books.
Montour’s Numbers Don’t Lie
At the end of the day, hockey is a game of mistakes. Whomever makes the least errors usually comes out on top, at the end. While no one is perfect, mistakes can happen daily within the National Hockey League. Montour’s eye test match-ups with his advanced numbers as well. Whether it is at full strength or on the special teams, Montour is a significant part of this line-up. Every night you can expect the solid play that contributes to the group’s overall game, especially this season.
Considering some of the names on this roster, seeing Brandon Montour towards the top is pretty impressive. As mentioned above, Montour’s play at both even strength and on the special teams has been fantastic for the Panthers this season. He ranks in the top 10 on the team in both even-strength offence and defence. Montour has a significant impact on the ice night in and night out. So much so that even his Goals Above Replacement and Wins Above Replacement both rank sixth on the team.
With that, Montour’s power-play efforts are not far behind that of his even-strength play. Despite the Panthers’ power-play struggling in general, Montour is doing his part to turn things around. Third, on the team in Power-Play Offence, Montour has been able to provide some security on that second unit. While there is always room for improvement, it does not seem like anyone will replace him on that unit any time soon. Overall, Brandon Montour is playing some of his best hockey yet. Even though he is considered a “third pair” defence in this line-up, Montour is playing like a top-three guy and needs to be recognized for it.
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