“Brandon is a proven winner and we are thrilled to have him join our organization,” Francis said in a release. “We look forward to his Kraken debut in front of the best fans in the NHL.”
The deal was first reported by The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman and brings the 30-year-old offensively talented Montour to a Kraken team that already has a top scorer in defenseman Vince Dunn. The free agency period opens at 9 a.m. PT, at which time teams are expected to announce signings.
Montour had eight goals, 25 assists in 66 games for the Panthers last season and added 11 more playoff points in winning the Stanley Cup. He led all Panthers in ice time, averaging 23:37 per contest. Last season, he had 16 goals and 57 assists, ranking as one of the league’s top defensive point-getters.
Heading into the free agency period, Montour was widely viewed as the top non-forward available. A Kraken team that finished with the NHL’s fourth-worst goals against total of 2.61 per game tried to jumpstart the offense with an acquisition this summer.
While many expect to add one or two additional forwards via free agency or trade, a Montour acquisition addresses some offensive needs while restoring balance to the left-right coordination of defensive pairings. Some of that was lost when right-handed defender Justin Schultz was not retained and became an unrestricted free agent.
Right-handed shot defenders are a rarer NHL commodity than left-handed versions. Montour gives the Kraken three right-handed defensemen in Adam Larsen and Will Borgen, to go along with three left-handed defensemen in Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak and Ryker Evans.
Several top free agent forwards were immediately off the board on Monday after winger Sam Reinhart resigned with the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos and Vegas Golden Knights winger Jonathan Marchessault signed deals with the Nashville Predators. Went. Carolina Hurricanes winger Jake Guentzel immediately signed with Tampa Bay, which freed up cap space by letting Stamkos go and trading defenseman Mikhail Sergachev to Utah over the weekend.
Vancouver centreman Elias Lindholm went to Boston on the same day the Bruins also signed Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Going the other way, the Canucks signed Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk.
Winnipeg Jets center Sean Monahan signed with Columbus shortly after, while Los Angeles Kings forward Victor Arvidsson signed a deal with Edmonton.
The Kraken had about $10 million in salary cap space to add players before this $7.14 million annual contract. This means they will either target cheap forwards here or clear cap space by moving existing players away.
By signing Montour instead of adding a top forward for roughly the same free agent dollars and contract length, the Kraken have left themselves a trade option on the defensive front to free up cap space.
Larsson, 31, has one year, $4 million remaining on his contract and several teams are said to be interested in acquiring him back at the March trade deadline. If Larsson were to be transferred, the Kraken have another right-handed defenseman in AHL prospect Calle Fleury who could replace him after limited Kraken tenures in the past.
The Kraken have already been linked to trade talks with the Columbus Blue Jackets over 26-year-old winger Patrik Laine, who has two more seasons to go on a contract worth $8.7 million in annual value. With the signing of Montour, the Kraken will need to trade someone from the current roster to be able to accommodate the line contract.
There was talk that the Kraken would transfer the remaining year and $3.5 million of Brandon Tanev’s contract to Ottawa in order to entice the Senators to sign his brother, Dallas Stars’ marquee free agent defender Chris Tanev. But that scenario ended Monday when Chris Tanev signed with Toronto.
They plan to make major changes on and off the ice this summer to strengthen their presence in the crowded Seattle sports market after a disappointing 81-point, non-playoff season. The change began in late April with the removal of Root Sports as their broadcast partner two years ahead of schedule and the introduction of their own game telecasts to be shown on “free” channels owned by Tegna and streamed by Amazon Prime. With the decision to produce.
This continued following the firing of coach Dave Hakstol and the hiring of Pittsburgh’s former Stanley Cup-winning Coachella Valley AHL associate coach Dan Bylsma in his place. Additionally, the team had indicated its intention to be very aggressive this summer in order to restore playoff contender status after a year of advancing far past the second round.
The NHL also announced all teams’ home openers on Monday, with the Kraken’s first 2024-25 regular season game taking place Oct. 8 against St. Louis at Climate Pledge Arena.
This story will be updated.
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