Cale Fleury has stepped into the lineup to fill Brandon Montour's shoes, and while it's hard to do so, the Seattle Kraken are thrilled with the results he's given them.
When Brandon Montour went down with a hand injury, many believed the Seattle Kraken would be in a challenging situation without him, but Cale Fleury has stepped up in a significant way.
The 27-year-old has 87 games of NHL experience, but he's never been given a lot of minutes to prove himself. Prior to the 2025-26 season, his career high in average ice time was 14:34, set in his first season with the Kraken in 2021-22, when he played just nine games.
This year, he's averaging 17:09 of ice time in 10 games, but it's his play and the trust coach Lane Lambert has gained in him.
On Jan. 2 against the Vancouver Canucks, Fleury scored his first career NHL goal, and his teammates were thrilled to celebrate his first career marker with him.
“He's a beast,” said Matty Beniers. “Yeah, he's an absolute beast back there. He brings everything. He brings physicality. He makes awesome plays on the breakouts throughout the neutral zone. He's got an absolute bomb [of a shot]. He has been an absolute force in each game he's played. He's gonna keep it going. I know he will.”
In the game against the Canucks, Fleury skated in 17:55, but he's played two games this season where he's eclipsed the 20-minute mark. In fact, two of his last three games have seen him eclipse the 20-minute mark.
“For me, it's just trusting my abilities,” said Fleury. “I mean, I know I'm in this league for a reason. I talked with coach (Lane Lambert) too. He's just telling me to play with confidence. When you have coach telling you that, it would be kind of rude not to.”
Cale Fleury (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)He's slid onto the second pair with Ryan Lindgren and has fit like a glove, and when Montour does return, it'll give Lambert some difficult decisions to make.
The Kraken value Jamie Oleksiak due to his size. He's thrown 50 hits and blocked 63 shots this season, but he's also averaging the lowest ice time of his Kraken tenure. He's a pending UFA and could be a prime trade candidate at the trade deadline if the Kraken aren't looking to re-sign him in the off-season.
The Kraken may have hesitated to trade Oleksiak previously because they feared they would be unable to replace him adequately. If Fleury's level continues, they could feel comfortable doing so and let Fleury remain alongside Lindgren or shift him to the third pair with Ryker Evans.
Having too many capable NHL defenseman is a problem more teams wish they had, but the Kraken can find a way to maximize both the salary cap and their assets with the right moves.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.