There was not much fanfare when the Vancouver Canucks announced that they had signed Derek Forbort to a one-year $1.5 million contract.

His signing was overshadowed by big-ticket acquisition Jake DeBrusk, local boy Danton Heinen, and playoff pest Kiefer Sherwood. He was lost in the shuffle and excitement over the Canucks’ three new forward additions.

At the time, he was viewed as a cheap replacement for Ian Cole, who signed with Utah for double what Forbort received. There was confusion later in the day when the Vincent Desharnais signing was announced. Why had the Canucks signed two big, slow, penalty killing specialists? As the season came to a close, there remained confusion over the desire to bring Desharnais into the fold, but Forbort’s merits were obvious.

Three games into the 2024-25 season, the Canucks announced that Forbort had left the team due to personal reasons. Nearly two weeks later, it was revealed that his father, Keith Forbort, had passed away from colon cancer. Shortly after returning, he injured his knee in practice on an unassuming play. His knee injury kept him out of the lineup for six weeks. His season even ended with an injury.

The day before the sturdy rearguard’s season was ended, the Canucks were officially eliminated from the playoffs. Despite this, the Canucks still played with passion and were ahead by one goal into the third period.

Forbort and Minnesota Wild forward Yakov Trenin engaged in fisticuffs in front of the benches. Both participants fell with Trenin landing on top of the Canuck. As the linesman and referees jumped in to grab the players’ arms and pull them off each other, Trenin threw an unprotected punch to Forbort’s face, breaking his orbital bone.

The Wild winger was ejected from the game but faced no supplementary discipline from the NHL afterwards. Canucks’ captain Quinn Hughes classified Trenin’s actions as a “circus act” and Marcus Pettersson said it was “one of the worst things he’s seen.” The injury necessitated surgery. Forbort’s season ended much the same way it began, in pain.

Derek Forbort is a fantastic penalty killer. To go even further, he was the best penalty killing defenceman this past season. No defenceman was on the ice with a man down for as long as he was and gave up fewer goals. Only one goal was scored for every 20 minutes of PK ice time. The next closest player was Washington Capitals defenceman Trevor van Riemsdyk, and he was on the ice for a goal against every 16 shorthanded minutes. Of the 145 qualified defencemen, Derek Forbort finished first in the league.

The raw numbers are just as good. He averaged 2:13 in PK time per game for a total of just under 120 minutes across his 54 games. He was on the ice for only six power play goals against. He was a big reason why the Canucks’ penalty kill finished third in the league.

For reference, the previous season, the Canucks were 17th in the NHL. The massive jump can’t be solely attributed to Forbort; he only played in 54 games after all, but he was a huge reason for it. When Derek Forbort was on the ice during a penalty kill, it was far more likely that the puck would not cross the goal line.

For an in-depth look into the numbers over three quarters into the season, click here.

Offensively, he maintained what he’s shown he’s capable of for the past several seasons. In seasons where Forbort has played in over 50 games, he averages about 12 points. There’s nothing flashy or dynamic about him when the puck is on his stick. Sometimes he made a particularly deft pass in the offensive zone that could trick a viewer into thinking he was a different player. A player devoid of offensive skill wouldn’t be able to stick in today’s NHL for 500 games, which the burly defenceman passed this season.

Given his penalty killing success and respect in the lockerrom, it comes as no surprise that the Canucks re-signed the penalty killing savant to a one-year $2 million contract for the 2025-26 season. He served as a frequent on-ice partner and mentor to young defencemen Victor Mancini and Elias Pettersson. Keeping Forbort around to continue that role is important for the growth of these players. It should also be said that the addition of Kevin Dean to Adam Foote’s coaching staff was a key factor in retaining the defenceman, as their relationship stems back to his days in Boston.

His season started as badly as it could have, beginning with the death of his father and a knee injury shortly after returning to the team. Despite this, Derek Forbort persevered. He carved out a spot as the first man over the boards penalty killer and did it more effectively than any defenceman in the NHL.

As much as the results make it look like Forbort’s penalty killing work is a thing of magic, the truth is that it’s all about intelligence and effort. In a time of much strife and discord, he was a true professional. That is why Canucks’ management priotized keeping him in the fold. Most of the time, hard work pays off.