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Kraken Place Brandon Montour on IR After Hand Surgery, Expect Four-Week Absence

His absence strains a high-usage blue line during Seattle’s push to regain ground in the wild-card race.

Overview

  • Seattle announced the 31-year-old defenseman had successful hand surgery and was placed on injured reserve with a recovery timeline of roughly one month.
  • Montour was hurt on Dec. 16 against the Avalanche after a post-whistle scuffle with Brent Burns and missed the following two games.
  • He ranks second on the Kraken in average ice time at roughly 21:55 per game with regular power-play usage behind Vince Dunn.
  • Coach Lane Lambert elevated Jamie Oleksiak into Montour’s role, returned Josh Mahura to the lineup, and paired Oleksiak with Ryan Lindgren and Mahura with Ryker Evans.
  • Seattle has gone 2-8-0 over its last 10 games and sits seven points back of the second wild card held by Utah, though the Kraken have played fewer games.