The milestones keep coming for the Seattle Kraken. On Jan. 2, Brandon Montour recorded his 200th NHL assist against the Vancouver Canucks.
The assist came off of Matty Beniers’ power play goal halfway into the third period. Montour and Andre Burakovsky had passed the puck back and forth to each other from the blue line, trying to find an opening to drive toward the net. Montour found his chance, passing the puck up to Shane Wright.
Monty milestone!
— Seattle Kraken PR (@SeattleKrakenPR) January 3, 2025
Brandon Montour's assist on Matty Beniers' goal tonight was his 200th career @NHL assist. pic.twitter.com/aUQfcvrHkV
He passed to Beniers. Even though he had three opposing team members on him, he found his chance and scored the second goal of the night for the Kraken.
Montour is a new addition to the Kraken this season, but this is nowhere close to his first season in the league. He was first drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in 2016, where he spent three seasons. He appeared in 25 games in his first season in the NHL, earning two goals and four assists for six points in the 2016-17 season. He spent the majority of his first season playing with the San Diego Gulls, where he recorded 12 goals and 45 assists in 68 games. Earning just about a point a game, he proved himself as a player. In 2017-18 he stepped up to the NHL more, appearing in 80 of the 82 games. He scored nine goals and earned 23 assists for a total of 32 points in his second year. In his final season with the Ducks, he played in 62 games and recorded five goals and 20 assists for a total of 25 points.
He finished out the 2018-19 season in Buffalo, after he was traded to the Sabres for Brandon Guhle and a first-round pick in the 2019 Draft. He recorded three more goals and seven more assists for a total of ten points in the final 20 games to finish out the season. In his first full season with the Sabres, he played in 54 games in 2019-20. He scored five goals and earned 13 assists for a total of 18 points. He began his 2020-21 season with the Sabres, playing in 38 games. He scored five goals again and earned nine assists, for a total of 14 points. However, his time in Buffalo was cut short.
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In April 2021, Montour was traded to the Florida Panthers for a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. He finished out the season in Florida, scoring two goals and earning two assists for a total of four points to bolster his overall total. 2021-22 was his first full season with the Panthers. He played in 81 games and scored 11 goals and earned 26 assists for 37 points. The 2022-23 season was Montour’s personal best. He played in 80 games, scoring 16 goals and earning 57 assists. With 73 points in total, that’s just about a point each game. Those 57 assists definitely helped to get him to where he is today.
While 2022-23 was Montour’s personal best season, 2023-24 was arguably the best for the Panthers overall. He played in 66 regular season games, earning 25 assists and scoring eight goals, for a total of 33 points. The Panthers went on to play in the playoffs, where they inevitably won the Cup. He helped the Panthers achieve this goal, playing in 24 playoff games, where he scored three goals and earned eight assists, for an additional 11 points.
Despite helping the Panthers win the Cup, they elected not to re-sign Montour. He became an unrestricted free agent (UFA) in July, when the Kraken signed him to a seven-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $7.14 million. In his first season with the Kraken, he has played in 38 games so far, scoring eight goals and earning 14 assists. With a total of 22 points, he is currently ranked fifth overall in points scored for the team. With his performance so far, this was a great offseason pickup for the Kraken. It will be an exciting time to see all that is in store for him for the rest of the season, and the six to follow.
Congratulations to Brandon Montour for earning his 200th NHL assist!
