Canucks Rumors: Team Discussing Extension For Pending UFA

It was a ugly end to his season about ten days ago, when Vancouver Canucks defenseman Derek Forbort had his orbital bone shattered during a fight with Minnesota's Yakov Trenin. He's now had minor surgery, and according to insider Rick Dhaliwal, is also in the midst of extension talks with the Canucks.

Derek Forbort had minor surgery to repair a broken bone in eye.

He is doing well.

I also believe some talks have taken place about re-signing him.#Canucks
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) April 22, 2025

The 33-year-old depth defenseman had a fine season in his role with Vancouver this year, after they'd signed him to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million in free agency last summer. Now, as a pending UFA again, it looks like he might be sticking around.

Forbort played in 54 games with the Canucks this season, averaging 17:06 of ice time, while recording 11 points and a -7 rating. He played a strong role on the penalty killing unit, and with his defensive abilities and hockey IQ, he's a nice depth defender to have around, but with the Canucks' strength on the left side (Quinn Hughes, Marcus Pettersson, Elias Pettersson 'DPetey'), it would have to be a reasonable cap hit, not much more than the $1.5M he earned this season.

The broken orbital bone came during a fight with Trenin, but after the two had fallen to the ice and Trenin punched him in the eye. It's a players code that you don't take shots once the opponent is down and helpless.

Scary moment in Vancouver — Derek Forbort was slow to get up following a fight with Yakov Trenin.

Trenin appeared to throw a couple punches after the pair had already gone down.

Forbort needed help from the staff on the way to bench.#MNWild | #Canucks | @OMNITelevision pic.twitter.com/sRQ3qA3osc
— Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi (@HkyNightPunjabi) April 13, 2025