The Seattle Kraken announced on Saturday that defenseman Brandon Montour is taking a leave of absence to attend to a family matter. Seattle made the announcement on social media [https://x.com/SeattleKraken/status/1979559412454080759/photo/1], saying, “Defenseman Brandon Montour will be taking a temporary leave of absence to attend to a family matter.” “No further details will be shared at this time, and the team requests that his family’s privacy be respected during this period.” Montour is a key piece on the back end for the Kraken [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/seattle-kraken]. So far this season, he’s played in all four games for Seattle and has put up four assists in that span. He’s also averaging 22:48 of ice time and a plus-three plus-minus rating. The 31-year-old D-man isn’t far removed from his career high of 73 points in 80 games with the Florida Panthers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/florida-panthers] in 2022-23. In addition, he won a Stanley Cup with the Panthers the following season. Brandon Montour (Brett Holmes-Imagn Images) [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/830105b4-ec22-4548-9a6c-ea1a6ad05f4a.jpeg] Brandon Montour (Brett Holmes-Imagn Images) In terms of team success with Seattle, this has been the Kraken’s best start to a season in their existence. Seattle has registered six points in their opening four outings with a 2-0-2 record. They are second in the Pacific Division [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/predicting-the-nhl-s-pacific-division-rankings-in-2025-26] and are one of four teams not to have a loss in regulation. The team is in the midst of an Eastern Conference road trip as they face the Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs] at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday night. After that, Seattle will visit the Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] on Monday and the Washington Capitals [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals] on Tuesday, potentially without their elite D-man in Montour. Defenseman Cale Fleury will be filling in for Montour against the Maple Leafs. This will be Cale Fleury’s season debut for the Kraken. Last season, the 26-year-old blueliner played 14 regular-season games, recording one assist and averaging 12:52 of ice time. Fleury has played 77 NHL games over parts of five seasons in his career. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
