Kraken’s Brandon Montour leaves game with lower-body injury

The Seattle Kraken could be looking at life without their most relied upon blueliner.

Kraken defenseman Brandon Montour suffered a lower-body injury during Thursday’s road game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The team has confirmed that he will not return to the game.

It’s not exactly clear how Montour picked up the injury, but it may have occured during his last shift early in the second period when he was tripped up by Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, causing him to fall somewhat awkwardly.

Montour, 32, has no goals and five assists in seven games this season. He is also leading Seattle with a tick over 24 and half minutes of ice time per game. Last season, he notched 11 goals and 21 assists for 32 points in 64 games for Seattle, while leading the team in average ice time with about 22 and a half minutes.

The Brantford, Ontario native is in his third season with the Kraken after signing with them on a seven-year, $50 million deal as an unrestricted free agent in July of 2024.

Selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Montour spent his first two plus NHL seasons in Anaheim before getting traded to the Buffalo Sabres at the 2019 deadline in exchange for defenseman Brendan Guhle and a first-round pick. After just 112 games for Buffalo spread over three seasons, he was traded to the Florida Panthers at the 2021 deadline for a third-round pick.

Montour peaked in Florida, having his career-best campaign in 2022-23 with 16 goals and 57 assists for 73 points in 80 games, and helping the Panthers win the Stanley Cup in 2024 before departing for Seattle.

After Thursday’s game in Tampa, the Kraken will finish up a five-game road trip against the Panthers on Saturday.