Following a Stanley Cup win in Florida, Montour could be one of the top defensemen available this summer.

• Player Overview
• What We Know
• Comparables
• Projection

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Player Overview

Beginning his career with the Anaheim Ducks, Brandon Montour looked poised to serve as a long-term, top-four NHL defenseman from the time he entered the league.

After some promising seasons with the Ducks early in his career though, Montour was acquired by the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 2018-19 season. Upon arriving in Buffalo, however, the defenseman didn’t have the desired impact, and struggled to be a difference-maker for the team.

But it’s when Montour landed in Florida roughly two years later where his game really took off. After a strong first full season with the Panthers in 2021-22, Montour exploded last season for 16 goals and 73 points, while seeing his ice time jump by over six minutes per game. While his stats did drop back down a little bit this past season, Montour was still able to establish himself as a well-rounded, top-four defenseman.

Montour’s skating helps to set him apart, with the ability to join rushes, but also get back into position to defend. He has the puck-handling skills to carry the puck up the ice, and is a consistent scoring threat as well. That said, Montour also plays with a lot of intensity away from the puck, quick to engage in battles and play physically both defending rush chances, and in battles.

Entering free agency as one of the top players available, the defender could be signed to possibly take on a role as a legitimate top-pairing defender, if he does leave Florida.

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What We Know

• Per Elliotte Friedman, Montour is likely to hit free agency.
• Per the Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Panthers are currently shopping Aaron Ekblad. If Ekblad was moved, Florida’s odds of re-signing Montour likely increase.

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Comparables

Below, we take a look at what Montour’s deal could look like at different lengths. With Montour now 30 years old, the comparables used will generally be defensemen who were between 27 and 32 years old in the first year of their deal.

For readers using mobile view, the tables below allow for horizontal scrolling.

7/8 YEARS

An eight-year deal would only be an option for Montour by extending with the Panthers prior to July 1, with comparables in the table below.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap Hit
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
Erik Karlsson	29	2019	70 53GP	68 680GP	24:49	25:51	$11.50M 8 years	$12.42M 8 years
*Seth Jones	28	2022	41 56GP	40 580GP	25:15	23:03	$9.50M 8 years	$10.13M 8 years
*Charlie McAvoy	25	2022	48 51GP	43 235GP	24:00	22:51	$9.50M 8 years	$10.13M 8 years
*Darnell Nurse	27	2022	53 56GP	32 406GP	25:38	22:18	$9.25M 8 years	$9.87M 8 years
*Victor Hedman	27	2017	49 23GP	40 470GP	23:04	22:11	$7.88M 8 years	$9.25M 8 years
*Oliver Ekman-Larsson	28	2019	42 82GP	41 576GP	23:41	23:39	$8.25M 8 years	$8.91M 8 years
John Carlson	28	2018	68 82GP	45 608GP	24:47	23:00	$8.00M 8 years	$8.86M 8 years
**Morgan Rielly	28	2022	51 63GP	44 580GP	23:43	21:53	$7.50M 8 years	$8.00M 8 years
**Noah Hanifin	27	2024	47 77GP	34 675GP	23:37	20:29	$7.35M 8 years	$7.35M 8 years
*Cam Fowler	27	2018	40 80GP	36 494GP	24:51	22:48	$6.50M 8 years	$7.19M 8 years
*Colton Parayko	29	2022	31 32GP	34 418GP	21:20	21:43	$6.50M 8 years	$6.93M 8 years
**Hampus Lindholm	28	2022	30 61GP	31 589GP	22:32	22:11	$6.50M 8 years	$6.93M 8 years
*Ryan Ellis	28	2019	60 44GP	36 396GP	23:31	19:36	$6.25M 8 years	$6.75M 8 years
*MacKenzie Weeger	29	2023	45 80GP	32 306GP	23:22	19:33	$6.25M 8 years	$6.59M 8 years
*Travis Sanheim	27	2023	32 80GP	28 335GP	22:58	20:18	$6.25M 8 years	$6.59M 8 years
Damon Severson	29	2023	33 81GP	33 647GP	19:57	21:11	$6.25M 8 years	$6.59M 8 years
*Ryan Pulock	28	2022	25 56GP	35 290GP	22:27	21:03	$6.15M 8 years	$6.56M 8 years
Adam Pelech	27	2021	21 56GP	20 303GP	21:03	19:16	$5.75M 8 years	$6.21M 8 years
**Gustav Forsling	28	2024	42 63GP	33 397GP	21:48	20:27	$5.75M 8 years	$5.75M 8 years
*Erik Cernak	26	2023	19 55GP	21 226GP	19:09	19:15	$5.20M 8 years	$5.48M 8 years

Looking at the most expensive comps, Montour clearly doesn’t compare well against Erik Karlsson ($12.4M adjusted cap hit). Then while he an extremely comparable production to Seth Jones, his ice time was quite a ways lower, and his numbers were also lower in every category than those of Charlie McAvoy. Darnell Nurse also had better numbers in most categories.

Montour is actually very similar in most categories to Victor Hedman and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but the difference in signing year production versus Hedman, and career ice time with Ekman-Larsson points to Montour being below those comps. He also doesn’t compare well at all to John Carlson, and is also a little lower in every category than Morgan Rielly.

On the low end of the comps though, his stats are also above every defender from Travis Sanheim ($6.59M adjusted cap hit) and below.

Then while Ryan Ellis and MacKenzie Weegar had better signing year production and the signing year ice time was comparable, Montour had better career production, and higher career ice time. Plus, Montour had better numbers than both Colton Parayko and Hampus Lindholm, so we can assume Montour would be at the $7M range.

The two best comparables on the table would be Noah Hanifin ($7.35M cap hit) and Cam Fowler ($7.19M adjusted cap hit). With Hanifin, while Montour had lower signing year production, he did have higher signing year production, and career ice time was quite similar. Then with Fowler, while Montour had the better career production, Fowler had higher ice time.

So with the Hanifin and Fowler comps, there’s a very clear, defined range for Montour on an eight-year deal, right around the $7.25M mark.

Meanwhile, a seven-year deal would be the most term Montour could get if he hits free agency.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
Dougie Hamilton	28	2021	63 55GP	46 607GP	22:43	20:27	$9.00M 7 years	$9.71M 7 years
Alex Pietrangelo	30	2020	61 70GP	49 758GP	24:11	24:38	$8.80M 7 years	$9.50M 7 years
*Jared Spurgeon	31	2020	43 82GP	35 591GP	24:09	22:21	$7.58M 7 years	$8.18M 7 years
Keith Yandle	30	2016	47 82GP	46 661GP	19:58	21:10	$6.35M 7 years	$7.65M 7 years
***Johnny Boychuk	31	2015	44 59GP	23 380GP	21:38	20:22	$6.00M 7 years	$7.39M 7 years
*Ryan McDonagh	30	2019	38 63GP	37 530GP	23:20	23:30	$6.75M 7 years	$7.29M 7 years
**Devon Toews	30	2024	52 81GP	48 315GP	25:06	23:01	$7.25M 7 years	$7.25M 7 years
*Justin Faulk	28	2019	35 82GP	38 559GP	22:25	23:16	$6.50M 7 years	$7.02M 7 years
Torey Krug	29	2020	66 61GP	66 61GP	20:29	20:19	$6.50M 7 years	$7.02M 7 years
*Jonas Brodin	28	2021	33 69GP	22 555GP	21:33	21:50	$6.00M 7 years	$6.48M 7 years
Scott Mayfield	31	2023	24 82GP	21 428GP	21:01	19:12	$3.50M 7 ears	$3.69M 7 years

Montour’s numbers were well below Dougie Hamilton and Alex Pietrangelo on the high end of comparables.

On the low end though, he’d be well above either of Scott Mayfield or Jonas Brodin. Then with Torey Krug, while Montour’s production was substantially lower, Krug’s much lower ice time and reputation as primarily an offensive defenseman mean it’s not a great comp.

The best range of comps would be from Justin Faulk on the low end ($7M adjusted cap hit) to Jared Spurgeon ($8.2M adjusted cap hit) on the high end. With Spurgeon, while Montour had better career production, Spurgeon was higher in terms of signing year production and ice time, which points to Montour below this range.

With Yandle though at a $7.65M cap hit, while Montour had the lower production he did have much higher ice time, representing the upper range of what he could get. Then while Montour doesn’t compare well against Devon Toews, he does compare a lot more closely to both Justin Faulk and Ryan McDonagh.

As a result, we see a very similar range for Montour on a possible seven-year deal, likely between $7M and $7.6M.

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6 YEARS

A six-year deal would be less likely for Montour, based on the limited comps.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
**Nate Schmidt	28	2019	39 84GP	24 284GP	22:14	18:08	$5.95M 6 years	$6.42M 6 years
Ryan Graves	28	2023	27 78GP	27 302GP	19:57	18:59	$4.50M 6 years	$4.74M 6 years

Even looking at the comps as well, Montour is well above both Schmidt and Graves in all categories. So we can bet he’d be well above Schmidt’s $6.4M adjusted cap hit, likely in a similar range to the projections for him on a seven or eight-year contract.

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5 YEARS

Any deal at five years or less for Montour would come as a surprise.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
*Dustin Byfuglien	31	2016	50 52GP	48 649GP	24:14	20:53	$7.60M 5 years	$9.16M 5 years
Alex Goligoski	31	2016	37 82GP	40 562GP	23:50	22:37	$5.45M 5 years	$6.57M 5 years
Tyler Myers	29	2019	32 80GP	34 635GP	20:21	22:22	$6.00M 5 years	$6.48M 5 years
*Rasmus Ristolainen	28	2022	23 50GP	36 592GP	21:26	23:37	$5.10M 5 years	$5.44M 5 years
Karl Alzner	29	2017	13 82GP	16 591GP	19:47	20:12	$4.63M 5 years	$5.43M 5 years
Jason Demers	28	2016	30 62GP	28 423GP	20:52	18:44	$4.50M 5 years	$5.42M 5 years
Jamie Oleksiak	29	2021	21 56GP	16 369GP	20:29	16:09	$4.60M 5 years	$4.97M 5 years
Jack Johnson	31	2018	12 77GP	29 788GP	19:33	22:52	$3.25M 5 years	$3.60M 5 years

Montour is well above any comp from Tyler Myers and below, but also doesn’t compare well to Dustin Byfuglien.

The best comp would be Alex Goligoski ($6.6M adjusted cap hit). While Montour had slightly higher signing year production and similar signing year ice time and career production, Montour’s career ice time is slightly lower. While an unlikely five-year deal could come in a little above that mark, it gives a pretty good indication that Montour’s value at five years is fairly similar to other terms.

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4 YEARS

Four years is another unlikely term for Montour. Based on the projections though, the two best comps would be Kevin Shattenkirk and Mattias Ekholm.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
Kevin Shattenkirk	28	2017	57 80GP	50 480GP	19:56	21:06	$6.65M 4 years	$7.80M 4 years
*Mattias Ekholm	32	2022	39 48GP	31 586GP	22:52	21:36	$6.25M 4 years	$6.67M 4 years
*Jared Spurgeon	27	2016	44 32GP	30 307GP	22:18	21:01	$5.19M 4 years	$6.26M 4 years
*Jake Muzzin	31	2020	35 52GP	36 578GP	21:36	21:15	$5.63M 4 years	$6.08M 4 years
T.J. Brodie	30	2021	24 64GP	34 634GP	20:27	22:35	$5.00M 4 years	$5.40M 4 years
Brendan Smith	28	2017	14 51GP	19 309GP	19:15	18:01	$4.35M 4 years	$5.10M 4 years
Ben Chiarot	31	2022	29 76GP	20 489GP	22:51	18:38	$4.75M 4 years	$5.07M 4 years
Chris Tanev	31	2020	24 69GP	19 514GP	19:32	19:44	$4.50M 4 years	$4.86M 4 years
Josh Manson	31	2022	20 67GP	21 475GP	18:59	19:44	$4.50M 4 years	$4.80M 4 years
*Artem Zub	28	2023	22 95GP	23 142GP	21:11	20:15	$4.50M 4 years	$4.74M 4 years
Kris Russell	30	2017	16 67GP	24 641GP	20:17	19:24	$4.00M 4 years	$4.69M 4 years
Connor Murphy	29	2022	25 50GP	18 494GP	22:09	19:06	$4.40M 4 years	$4.69M 4 years
Jake Gardiner	29	2019	40 62GP	36 551GP	21:13	21:21	$4.05M 4 years	$4.37M 4 years
Adam Larsson	29	2021	15 56GP	19 603GP	19:39	20:42	$4.00M 4 years	$4.32M 4 years
**Jake McCabe	28	2021	17 79GP	18 353GP	18:38	19:15	$4.00M 4 years	$4.32M 4 years
Nick Leddy	31	2022	26 75GP	35 851GP	21:25	20:37	$4.00M 4 years	$4.27M 4 years
Brenden Dillon	30	2020	17 69GP	16 598GP	19:27	18:34	$3.90M 4 years	$4.21M 4 years

Shattenkirk had much better production, and while Montour’s signing year ice time was better, he’s likely still a little below the $7.8M adjusted cap hit. But with Ekholm, while the players compare well in most categories, Montour had the better career production, pointing to him being above his $6.7 adjusted cap hit. As a result we can likely expect Montour to be midway between the two comps, likely around the $7.25M range once again.

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1-3 YEARS

A deal between one and three years would be much shorter term than expected for Montour.

Comparables for a three-year deal are below.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
Mike Green	30	2015	51 72GP	51 575GP	19:06	22:11	$6.00M 3 years	$7.39M 3 years
Justin Schultz	27	2017	54 78GP	38 344GP	20:27	21:21	$5.50M 3 years	$6.45M 3 years
Tyson Barrie	30	2021	70 56GP	53 610GP	21:24	21:45	$4.50M 3 years	$4.88M 3 years

Based on the comps, all were primarily offensive defensemen, so the comparisons aren’t great. While Montour’s production is lower than some comps, his ice time is signing year ice time is higher than all. He’d likely be below Mike Green based on the comparison in most other categories, but with Justin Schultz, while Montour had the lower signing year production, he was comparable in terms of career production and career ice time, and had the much higher signing year ice time. As a result, Schultz is likely the best comp available at three years.

For two-year deals, we did see a two defensemen take shorter deals than expected last offseason, but at a higher cap hit.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
Dmitry Orlov	32	2023	45 66GP	32 709GP	22:33	20:15	$7.75M 2 years	$8.17M 2 years
Vladislav Gavrikov	28	2023	22 72GP	24 276GP	21:58	20:48	$5.88M 2 years	$6.20M 2 years

If Montour did go this route, he’d be able to re-enter the market at 32 years old, and could likely still earn a decent deal at that point. So if he could get an inflated cap hit at this length of contract, there’s at least some reasoning for it. With fairly comparable production to Dmitry Orlov but higher ice time, he’d likely be above the $8M range on any two-year deal.

Meanwhile, a one-year deal would carry major risk for Montour, but we’ve seen examples of it in the past.

Player	Age	First Year of Contract	Signing Year P/82	Career P/82	TOI Season	Career TOI	Contract	On $88M Cap
Brandon Montour	30	2024	41 66GP	40 520GP	23:27	21:04
John Klingberg	30	2022	52 74GP	56 552GP	22:13	22:59	$7.00M 1 year	$7.47M 1 year
Matt Dumba	30	2023	15 79GP	32 598GP	21:17	20:37	$3.90M 1 year	$4.11M 1 year
Tyson Barrie	29	2020	46 70GP	51 554GP	21:53	21:47	$3.75M 1 year	$4.05M 1 year

If Montour did opt for a one-year deal, he’d need to put himself in a position to cash in even bigger a year down the road. The best bet would be for him to come in a little below John Klingberg’s $7.5M adjusted cap hit, likely around the $7M range. Still, a one-year deal remains very unlikely for Montour.

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Projection

A maximum-term contract remains the most likely scenario for Montour.

Term	Projected Cap hit	Maximum Cap Hit	Minimum Cap Hit
7/8 Years	$7.25M	$7.50M	$7.00M

A deal between four and six years would be less likely for Montour, but his cap hit would likely be fairly consistent to projections for a maximum-term deal.

Term	Projected Cap hit	Maximum Cap Hit	Minimum Cap Hit
6 Years	$7.25M	$7.50M	$7.00M
5 Years	$7.00M	$7.25M	$6.50M
4 Years	$7.25M	$7.50M	$6.75M

A deal between one and three years is very unlikely for Montour, but a two-year contract at an inflated cap hit would be most likely of the options.

Term	Projected Cap hit	Maximum Cap Hit	Minimum Cap Hit
3 Years	$6.50M	$7.50M	$6.50M
2 Years	$8.25M	$8.50M	$7.75M
1 Year	$7.00M	$7.50M	$7.00M