Even though free agency didn’t officially start until 9:00 am PT, insiders have their connections, and they can start reporting on deals before players are allowed to sign them. This meant getting a head start on reporting exactly what Ron Francis and company are doing in free agency for the Kraken, and I’m certainly not mad at it!
As first reported by Pierre LeBrun and Kevin Weekes, Brandon Montour is signing with the Seattle Kraken for seven years with a $7.14 million AAV, exact amount reported by the Kraken’s PR team. Montour is the kind of defenseman that’ll bring more offense to a Kraken team that was sorely lacking it last season. In 66 regular season games for the Florida Panthers during the 2023-2024 season, he posted 8 goals and 25 assists for 33 points. His career highs, 16 goals and 57 assists for 73 points, came during the prior season, 2022-2023 (which I have shared a highlight reel of this season below). He also played a crucial role in leading the Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back years, culminating in this year’s win. More personally, Montour is of Six Nations Mohawk decent and has been committed to growing the game of hockey back in his home community.
Some arguments could be made that this deal is slightly too much money for definitely too much term, especially with Montour turning 37 by the end of this contract. However, Montour is fresh off that Stanley Cup win, so his value at market was probably set this high thanks to the circumstances. I’m not an insider, so I couldn’t tell you what other teams may have been offering to get him and whether the Kraken could have negotiated a different contract. This may have been the minimum Francis and company had to do to secure their catch.
Time will tell with exactly how well the contract will age, but Montour seems to fill needs for the Kraken in this exact moment. With the team having recently fired Dave Hakstol and brought up Dan Bylsma to replace him as coach, it feels like the Kraken organization is feeling more urgency to get back to the success of their second season in 2022-2023 that saw them take a two-round run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Signing Montour is a major swing in that direction, and it’s almost refreshing to see the Kraken go for it. Plus, he seems like he’ll be a fun fit in the locker room.
Let’s all welcome Brandon Montour as the newest member of the Seattle Kraken!
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