Canucks sign Derek Forbort to one-year extension

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday that they have signed defenseman Derek Forbort to a one-year contract extension.

Forbort, a 33-year-old left-shot defender, will earn $2 million for the 2025-2026 season.

“Bringing Derek back for another season is an important move for our group,” general manager Patrik Alvin said via the team’s press release. “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 skated in 54 games for Vancouver this past season, tallying two goals and nine assists while posting a minus-7 rating.

The deal represents a modest raise from the $1.5 million he signed with the Canucks for last offseason.

The move also solidifies a defensive unit that could be ready to take the ice on opening night next season as is.

In addition to Forbort, Quinn Hughes, Filip Hronek, Marcus Pettersson, Tyler Myers, Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson are all signed heading into the season.

With roughly $12.1 million in cap space still available according to Puckpedia, Allvin and the rest of the team’s braintrust could still make moves to shake the unit up.

The organization has 12 forwards under contract, though Brock Boeser and Pius Suter are set to hit the free agent market on July, meaning finding upgrades up front could take priority over reshaping the blue line.

Forbort, who was selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the first round of the 2010 NHL entry draft by the Los Angeles Kings, now gets some stability instead of uncertainty over the summer.

The Canucks are the veteran’s fifth team since the start of the 2019-2020 season.