The Seattle Kraken are making a big splash this free agent period. News broke on late Monday morning that the Kraken have inked the Brandon Montour contract. The deal is for seven years and nearly $50 million. This deal will run through the 2031-32 season and have an average cap hit of $7.14 million.
Brandon Montour deal in Seattle will be 7 x $7.14M
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024
Kraken Sign Brandon Montour Contract for Seven Years
Montour has played for the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers during his eight-year NHL career. He totaled eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points in 66 games this season. He had a Corsi for of 61.9 and a relative Corsi of 9.7.
Anaheim originally drafted Montour in the second round, 55th overall of the 2014 NHL Draft. The Brantford, Ontario native has 66 goals and 186 assists for 252 points in 520 games. Montour played a large hand in the Panthers finally clinching their first Stanley Cup.
What Brandon Montour Contract Means
This is a huge reward for defenceman Brandon Montour who is coming off a career-year in 2022-23. Of course, it wasn’t only personally successful, as his team made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals, and he was a big part of their success. Montour missed a portion of the season, but was huge for Florida.
Montour exploded in 2022-23, recording 73 points through 80 regular season games. For example, his previous career-high was a poultry 37 in 2021-22. Next, he went on to achieve success in the playoffs, with 13 points. Which tied him for second behind the Edmonton Oilers Evan Bouchard who had 17. Moreover, many of Montour’s stats were great in 2022-23. He played over 24 minutes a night, his CF% Rel was 7.7, and his Point Share of 9.9 was outstanding. It seemed his hard work paid off in spades, like this contract.
Kraken GM Ron Francis makes the biggest deal of his tenure in the Pacific Northwest. Let’s see if he can keep his game going with the Kraken.
Main photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports