Derek Forbort's first season with the Vancouver Canucks didn't go to plan.
The veteran defenceman had hopes of a healthy season after two injury-plagued years with the Boston Bruins. Instead, he suffered a knee injury less than a month into the season that took him out of the lineup for over five weeks. Forbort managed to stay healthy in the ensuing months, only to have his season ended a few games early by a cheap shot from Yakov Trenin that broke his orbital bone.
That's not to mention, of course, that he signed with the Canucks expecting to make the playoffs and perhaps even compete for the Stanley Cup. That certainly didn't happen.
Forbort will get another shot with the Canucks, however, as general manager Patrik Allvin re-signed him on Tuesday.
General Manager Patrik Allvin announced today that the #Canucks have agreed to terms with defenceman Derek Forbort on a one-year contract with a $2M AAV. pic.twitter.com/qu9zs7ABru
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) June 3, 2025
The contract carries a $2 million cap hit, which is a raise from the $1.5 million cap hit on his last deal. While the salary cap is increasing significantly for next season, from $88 million to $95.5 million, it's a raise in relative terms too, as Forbort's contract goes from 1.70% of the salary cap to 2.09%.
That's a sign of how much the Canucks like what Forbort brings to the table. When healthy, Forbort was rock solid defensively, both at even-strength and on the penalty kill.
At 5-on-5, Forbort was on the ice for the lowest rate of expected goals against among Canucks defencemen and the second-lowest rate of actual goals against, behind only rookie Elias Pettersson, who was significantly more sheltered than Forbort.
On the penalty kill, Forbort was even more impressive. Among Canucks skaters with at least 50 minutes on the penalty kill, Forbort was on the ice for the lowest rate of shots against and goals against.
In fact, Forbort's 3.00 goals against per 60 minutes on the penalty kill was sixth in the NHL among skaters with at least 50 minutes played and first among defencemen. In nearly 120 minutes on the penalty kill, Forbort was on the ice for just six goals against. With the Canucks scoring three shorthanded goals while he was on the ice, his goal differential on the penalty kill was just minus-3.
Forbort's defensive prowess shows up in his heatmaps from HockeyViz, which show deep areas of blue in front of the Canucks' net at both even-strength and on the penalty kill, indicating significantly lower shot attempts from those areas.
Unfortunately, those heatmaps also show deep areas of blue in front of the opposition net, as Forbort doesn't provide much in the way of offence. Forbort chipped in two goals and 11 points in 54 games last season.
While Forbort's offensive game leaves something to be desired, he brings a steadiness to a bottom pairing that a former defensive defenceman like Adam Foote will appreciate as head coach. Foote worked closely with Forbort last season and one would have to think he had an influence in wanting to bring the 6'4" defenceman back for another year.
That gives the Canucks a veteran left side on defence, with Quinn Hughes and Marcus Pettersson ahead of Forbort in the top-four. It also provides a bit of an impediment to younger defencemen like Pettersson and Kirill Kudryavtsev, though Pettersson performed well on his off-side last season and the seeming inevitability of injuries should provide opportunities for younger defencemen to get into games.
The upshot is that re-signing doesn't leave the Canucks relying on younger defencemen in case they're not ready. Pettersson just turned 21 a few months ago; he has plenty of time. Besides, Pettersson's most frequent defence partner was Forbort himself, so there's plenty of evidence they can co-exist in the lineup.
