The Seattle Kraken announced today that defenseman Brandon Montour will miss approximately four weeks after undergoing successful hand surgery. Montour left the Kraken’s game last Tuesday with what was at the time an undisclosed injury, and didn’t dress for either of the team’s next two games. He has been placed on injured reserve.
With today’s announcement, the reason for Montour’s unavailability has become clear. The 31-year-old defenseman has become a key part of the Kraken blueline since signing a $7.14MM AAV deal with Seattle in 2024. He currently ranks No. 2 on the Kraken in time on ice per game, averaging 21:55 per game with 2:02 per game on the power play, just behind No. 1 defenseman Vince Dunn in each category.
Montour scored 18 goals and 41 points in his first season in Seattle, and has managed six goals and 16 points in 27 games this season, a scoring rate that is a slight tick above where he landed in 2024-25. Montour paired with lefty Ryan Lindgren to form Seattle’s second defensive pairing on Dec. 16, the date Montour suffered his injury.
With Montour sidelined, head coach Lane Lambert elevated Jamie Oleksiak off of the team’s third pairing into Montour’s role, electing to play Oleksiak on his off hand next to Lindgren. The elevation of Oleksiak paved the way for Josh Mahura to re-enter the Kraken lineup on the third pairing next to young defenseman Ryker Evans. Mahura, who averages 15:15 time on ice per game this season, had been a healthy scratch the prior two games and sat out most of November.
This injury to Montour will challenge the Kraken’s ability to re-enter the Western Conference playoff race. They sit seven points behind the Utah Mammoth, who hold the conference’s second wild card spot, though they have only played in 33 games compared to Utah’s 38. Seattle has gone 2-8-0 in its last 10 games, and losing a key veteran defenseman for four weeks certainly won’t help them reverse that trend.