Per the NHL media site, Montour (shoulder) was taken off injured reserve Friday and is expected to make his season debut versus Anaheim.
Montour had an outstanding 2022-23 campaign with 16 goals, 57 assists, 242 shots on goal, 107 PIM, 93 blocked shots and 92 hits in 80 contests. Montour had six goals and nine points in eight playoff games last year before suffering his shoulder injury, but he was able to gut it out, picking up two goals and four points in his final 13 games of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He underwent offseason surgery but is finally healthy enough to return Friday.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Chance to play during road trip
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Montour (shoulder) might be ready to return during Florida's three-game road trip, according to Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site.
Coach Paul Maurice mentioned Tuesday that Friday's contest versus Anaheim is a potential target for the returns of Montour and Aaron Ekblad (shoulder). Montour amassed 16 goals, 73 points, 107 PIM, 242 shots on net, 93 blocked shots and 92 hits in 80 games last season. He hasn't played during the 2023-24 campaign because of offseason shoulder surgery.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Practicing Monday
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Montour (shoulder) will be a full participant in practice Monday, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.
Montour's currently on injured reserve but could return as early as Tuesday in San Jose. The 29-year-old has yet to make his season debut after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery. Once healthy, he'll slide back into a top-four role with a spot on the top power-play unit.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Back at practice ahead of road trip
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Montour (shoulder) will join the full Panthers team at practice Sunday and is expected to accompany the team on next week's road trip, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.
He'll wear a non-contact jersey Sunday as he takes a big step forward in his recovery. Montour and Aaron Ekblad were initially expected to return to the lineup in mid-December following their offseason shoulder surgeries, but coach Paul Maurice indicated Saturday that both blueliners were ahead of schedule and could be back before the end of November.
Montour (shoulder) doesn't have a definitive timeline to return, but general manager Bill Zito suggested the defenseman could be back between November and January, David Dwork of Local 10 Miami reports.
Montour's progression from shoulder surgery has gone as planned so far, but he still has a long way to go. The 29-year-old defenseman is expected to be a power-play option while serving in a top-four role once he is cleared to play. Zito added that Montour is likely closer to a return than Aaron Ekblad (shoulder), who is also recovering from surgery and multiple additional injuries from the Panthers' run to the Stanley Cup Finals.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Recovering from shoulder surgery
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It is unclear if Montour will be ready for the start of the 2023-24 season following offseason shoulder surgery, David Dwork of The Hockey News reports.
With Aaron Ekblad also on the mend from shoulder surgery, the Panthers signed Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Mike Reilly and Dmitry Kulikov on Saturday for some much-needed defensive depth. Montour racked up 16 goals, 73 points, 107 PIM and 242 shots on goal in 80 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Collects helper
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Montour notched an assist and went minus-3 in Tuesday's 9-3 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 5.
Montour picked up two goals and two assists over the last three games of the postseason, but his rediscovery of his offense didn't save the Panthers' season. The defenseman had 13 points, a plus-2 rating, 72 shots on net and 39 PIM in 21 outings, but a 10-game point drought in the middle showed some rare inconsistency. He's still on a bargain deal for next season at a $3.5 million cap hit -- a solid price to pay for a top-four defenseman who can run a power play.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Two points in loss
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Montour scored a goal on two shots, added an assist and logged 12 PIM in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Golden Knights in Game 4.
Montour saw a pinball shot go in for the Panthers' first goal, and he set up Aleksander Barkov in the third period, but the comeback fell short. The defenseman has three points over his last two games since he snapped a 10-game drought. The top-four blueliner has eight goals, four assists, 39 PIM, 72 shots on net, 28 hits, 28 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating through 20 postseason contests.
Montour scored a goal on three shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Golden Knights in Game 3.
Montour opened the scoring at 4:08 of the first period, snapping a 10-game point drought in the process. The slump stood in stark contrast to his regular season as well as his strong start to the playoffs. He's still at seven goals, 10 points, 70 shots on net, 27 hits, 27 blocked shots, 27 PIM and a plus-4 rating through 19 playoff outings. While he was able to finish Thursday's contest, Montour briefly left the game with an injury in the third period, though it doesn't seem he's at risk of missing Saturday's Game 4 at this time.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Keeps rolling in Game 1
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Montour scored a goal on a team-high five shots in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
Montour capped the scoring midway through the third period, ripping a one-timer through traffic to give Florida a 4-2 lead. The 29-year-old defenseman has been on a tear of late, scoring in three straight contests and recording five points in that span. Through eight postseason games, Montour is up to six goals and nine points after tallying a career-best 73 points (16 goals, 57 assists) in 80 regular-season contests.
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Panthers' Brandon Montour: Lights lamp twice in Game 7 win
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Montour scored two goals, one on the power play, in Sunday's 4-3 overtime win over the Bruins in Game 7 of the Panthers' first-round series.
The blueliner opened the scoring midway through the first period on the man advantage, but it was Montour's second tally of the night that proved to be crucial, as he snuck home a deflected puck with exactly one minute left in the third period to tie the game at 3-3 and keep his team alive. Carter Verhaeghe then played hero in OT. Montour has carried his breakout regular season forward into the playoffs, racking up five goals and eight points in seven games against Boston, and he'll try to keep rolling when Florida faces Toronto on Tuesday to begin the second round.
Panthers' Brandon Montour: Records two helpers Sunday
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Montour registered two assists, six shots and seven PIM in Sunday's 6-2 defeat to the Bruins in Game 4.
Despite having racked up 17 PIM in four postseason clashes, Montour has still been able to produce offensively with two goals, two assists and 14 shots, including one power-play point. When he's not in the box himself, Montour is averaging 3:37 of ice time with the man advantage and should continue to line up with the No. 1 unit.
