Panthers Acquire Defenseman Brandon Montour

The Florida Panthers acquired defenseman Brandon Montour from the Buffalo Sabres. In return, Buffalo received a third-round pick.

Brandon Montour

Brandon Montour, 26-years-old, is a defenseman who has played in 38 games this season with the Sabres. He has scored five goals and dished out nine assists in that span.

Over his five-year NHL career, Montour hasĀ 26 goals and 75 assists for 101 career points in 275 career games. He was originally drafted in the second round, 55th overall of the 2014 NHL draft by the Anaheim Ducks.

Montour will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season after signing a one-year, $3.85M contract with the Sabres in October.

What This Means for the Future

Florida

The Panthers add a two-way defenseman to a team in a tight race for first place in the Central Division standings. Florida fell from first place to a tie with Tampa Bay for second after back-to-back losses to Carolina this week. Montour will also fill the void for Aaron Ekblad, who is out for the rest of the season. Ekblad was having a Norris Trophy-caliber season, scoring 11 goals and 11 assists in 35 games (before the injury).

Buffalo

The Montour trade marks the continuation of a rebuild. Buffalo currently sits at last in both the East Division and the NHL, so their main goal is to keep acquiring new players and prospects to build a stronger roster. The defenseman is the third Sabres player to be traded ahead of the deadline, after goalie Jonas Johansson and Eric Staal were each traded to Colorado and Montreal.

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