Vancouver Canucks sign Forbort to affordable contract extension
Derek Forbort is staying put.
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that the pending unrestricted free agent has agreed to a one-year contract worth $2 million — a $500,000 raise on what he earned last season.
That’s a surprise following a recent report that had Forbort likely to test free agency on July 1.
Instead, the rugged 6-foot-4 blueliner from Duluth, Minnesota, will play a second year in Vancouver.
“Bringing Derek back for another season is an important move for our group,” said Canucks GM Patrik Allvin. “His strong defensive play and solid work on the penalty kill really helped solidify our back end this past year.
“Derek has a strong voice in the room and some impressive leadership qualities, and we will look to him to help our team continue to grow and improve this coming season.”
Forbort appeared in 54 games for the Canucks last season, contributing 11 points (2-9-11) while averaging 17:06 of ice time per game. The 33-year-old was one of Vancouver’s most-used players while shorthanded (2:14 per game), helping the Canucks post the third-best penalty kill percentage (82.6%) in the NHL.
The Forbort signing leaves the Canucks with three remaining pending unrestricted free agents on their NHL roster: Brock Boeser, Pius Suter, and Noah Juulsen. Other players currently suiting up with the Abbotsford Canucks are also pending UFAs: Phil Di Giuseppe, Nathan Smith, Guillaume Brisebois, Christian Wolanin, and Akito Hirose.
The Canucks’ blue line is a strength of the team, but it’s getting rather crowded.
Five defencemen are already signed to one-way contracts, including Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, and Forbort. Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson are both on two-way contracts, but are expected to challenge for full-time jobs on defence next season.