The Seattle Kraken got the kind of injury news they needed after Thursday’s overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Brandon Montour, who left the game early in the 4-3 defeat on Oct. 15, is only day-to-day with an upper-body injury, according to the team. That is a far better outcome than the initial fear when he exited and the Kraken were forced to turn around and recall defenseman Ty Nelson from Coachella Valley of the American Hockey League.
The timing matters because Seattle is already dealing with Ryan Lindgren being out for the next four to six weeks with an upper-body injury. Losing another veteran blueliner for any long stretch would have put the Kraken in a difficult spot, especially on a road trip where they had to finish the game against Tampa Bay with just five defensemen after Montour went down.
Even with that setback, Seattle held the Lightning to overtime, which only sharpened the concern when Montour didn’t return. A call-up the next day naturally raised the question of how serious the injury might be.
Instead, the update points to a quicker return. Montour is a key part of Seattle’s defensive group, and the Kraken made that even clearer ahead of the start of the 2026-27 season when he was named an alternate captain.
Seattle has now wrapped up its East Coast road trip and will return home to face the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, Oct. 20. With a few days between games, the Kraken will hope Montour can be back on the ice by then.
In Other News...
Kraken Defense Just Hit A Breaking Point In Florida
The Krakens night in Florida quickly turned into damage control, with an 8-3 loss at Amerant Bank Arena exposing just how thin the blue line looked without two veteran defensemen. Seattle was already leaning on a patched-together lineup, and the task only got steeper once Florida started finding room in transition and around the crease.
Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Bennett each scored hat tricks for the Panthers, a brutal reminder of how much pressure Seattle was under from the opening stretch. Brandon Montour and Ryan Lindgren were out, and Josh Mahura, Cale Fleury and Ville Ottavainen dressed together for the first time this season, a new-look grouping that never really had a chance to settle in before the game got away. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Still Waiting To See When Perron Can Actually Help
David Perron is finally on the verge of joining the Dallas Stars after visa issues delayed his arrival, giving the club a chance to see what the veteran forward can add once he gets in the building. Dallas signed Perron to a one-year contract, and head coach Pete DeBoer said he will need some time to get up to speed, which makes this less about an immediate lineup fix and more about when he can realistically start helping.
For the Stars, the timing matters because every day he spends catching up is another day the team is waiting to see how he fits into its mix. Around the division, the injury and roster churn keep rolling too, with Seattles Brandon Montour sidelined by a lower-body injury, St. Louis missing Ross Johnston, and Vegas sending Ville Heinola to its AHL affiliate. [Read more 🡒]
Kraken Face A Costly Question In Search Of Blue-Line Help
Seattle has plenty to think about on its blue line, and the conversation inevitably drifts toward what it might take to fix it. One name that keeps surfacing is Shane Wright, whose value could give the Kraken a real lever if they decide to chase a defense upgrade rather than wait for internal solutions. It is the kind of trade-chip discussion that says as much about roster pressure as it does about one players standing, especially when a team is trying to get younger and sturdier on defense at the same time.
Simon Edvinsson is the sort of talent that would make sense in that conversation, at least on paper, because his upside fits the kind of long-term help Seattle wants. The complication is obvious: landing a player like that would not be simple, and the price would likely reach beyond a one-for-one swap. For a Kraken front office still sorting out its next move, the real question is whether the path to blue-line help runs through a bold deal, or whether the cost becomes too steep to justify. [Read more 🡒]