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Derek Forbort

Derek Forbort Out Rest Of Regular Season

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The Boston Bruins will be without Derek Forbort for the rest of the regular season, according to Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. The defenseman suffered a lower-body injury recently and won’t play again before the playoffs, but, according to head coach Jim Montgomery, will not require surgery.

That would suggest Forbort could return at some point in the playoffs, the only thing the Bruins have to worry about at this point. They already have the Presidents’ Trophy effectively locked up, with a 13-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, and are simply waiting to see who they’ll play in the first round.

Forbort has been an effective piece for the Bruins this season, logging huge time on the penalty kill and providing solid physical play. He averages more than three minutes a night shorthanded, tied with Brandon Carlo for the team lead.

The 31-year-old defenseman’s absence would leave a significant hole, had it not been for the acquisition of Dmitry Orlov at the deadline, which extended the Bruins depth chart and prepared them for a scenario like this. The club has more than enough talent to work their way through the last month of the season without Forbort, though decisions will get a little harder once the playoffs start, if he is healthy enough to play.

For teams locked into a playoff spot, avoiding injury while staying sharp over the last dozen games is imperative. The playoffs are a grind even for the most talented rosters in the league, and the Eastern Conference is shaping up to be especially tough.

Injury Updates: Carlson, Acciari, Forbort

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Capitals defenseman John Carlson revealed to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription link) that the upper-body injury that has kept him out close to three months was a small skull fracture above his right ear and a severed temporal artery.  Back in January, his ear had to be partially reattached, likely due to that severed artery.  The veteran has started skating and is believed to be targeting Thursday’s game against Chicago as a potential return date.  Carlson’s absence has played a big role in Washington’s decline this season and while his suiting up won’t change their fortunes now, it’ll still be important for him to get back and show that he has indeed fully recovered.

Other injury news from around the NHL:

  • Maple Leafs forward Noel Acciari won’t play tonight against Ottawa, relays NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy (Twitter link). He suffered an injury on Friday against Carolina on a hit from Jesse Puljujarvi and did not return with head coach Sheldon Keefe indicating the 31-year-old wouldn’t be accompanying Toronto on the road.  Acciari has three goals in 13 games with Toronto since being acquired from St. Louis last month while chipping in with 43 hits in a little under 13 minutes per contest.
  • The Bruins are likely to be without blueliner Derek Forbort for both games this weekend. Head coach Jim Montgomery indicated after practice yesterday (video link) that the veteran went for more imaging on Friday with the team awaiting the results.  Connor Clifton is expected to suit up in Forbort’s spot today while Jakub Zboril appears to be targeted for that spot in the lineup on Sunday.  Forbort has a dozen points in 54 games so far this season while chipping in with 106 hits and 88 blocked shots.

Boston Bruins Activate Derek Forbort

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The Boston Bruins have officially activated Derek Forbort from long-term injured reserve, sending Anton Stralman down to the Providence Bruins at the same time. Stralman cleared waivers earlier today, meaning his entire $1MM cap hit can be buried in the minor leagues.

Many followers of the Bruins were confused when head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that the team would not need any other moves to activate Forbort, since at first blush the CapFriendly page appeared to show a lack of cap space for the move. But that space was based on the $82,091,667 accruable cap space limit that the team set before the season when they first entered LTIR. With Forbort back, the team is now completely out of LTIR, and has a total cap hit of $82,454,167, just under the regular cap ceiling of $82.5MM.

It’s close, but the team doesn’t need to make another move and can continue with a 22-man roster.

Forbort, meanwhile, is coming back after a month on the shelf, last playing November 1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The veteran defenseman had three points in his first ten games and was averaging more than 20 minutes a night, holding the fort while the team waited on some other pieces to return. Now that everyone is healthy, he’ll likely assume a lesser – but still important – role on the club, and try to help them continue their torrid start.

Stralman, meanwhile, is headed to the AHL for the first time in more than a decade. The last time he suited up in the minor leagues was during the 2008-09 season with the Toronto Marlies, before he had really established himself as a regular in the league. Nearly 900 games later and he’s headed back, though it will be interesting to see if another club goes after him as a trade target, now that he has cleared waivers.

Anton Stralman Clears Waivers

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Nov 29: Perhaps surprisingly, Stralman has indeed cleared waivers and can be assigned to the minor leagues to make room for Forbort.

Nov 28: After playing just 8:44 in his last appearance with the Boston Bruins, Anton Stralman finds himself on waivers today. The veteran defenseman is available for claim, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, which would potentially open up a roster spot for the soon-to-return Derek Forbort.

Stralman, 36, signed a one-year, $1MM contract with the Bruins in October, giving the team a veteran defenseman to lean on while they dealt with injuries. Now, after eight relatively underwhelming appearances, the team needs the cap space and the roster spot. Stralman failed to record a point in his games as a Bruin, though seven of the eight did result in wins. In two of those, he even logged more than 19 minutes, though the ice time has been more difficult to come by as the season progressed.

It will be interesting to see if a defense-needy team takes a shot on the veteran right-hander. Stralman has more than 900 games of NHL experience and was once a top-pairing two-way option, capable of supporting more offensive-minded players. In 2014-15, skating for much of the year next to a young Victor Hedman, he finished 13th in Norris Trophy voting.

That defenseman is long gone, but there’s at least reason to believe he could still help a team’s bottom pair. As recently as last season, he logged more than 21 minutes a night for the Arizona Coyotes, racking up 23 points despite brutal deployment numbers – receiving almost nothing but defensive zone starts to help protect some of the team’s younger options. For teams dealing with multiple injuries on the back end, he could add some stability.

Snapshots: O’Reilly, Subban, Forbort

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The St. Louis Blues have lost eight in a row and suddenly, a player that was once considered a core piece is starting to be discussed in trade speculation. Ryan O’Reilly, the team’s captain, and (tied for) highest-paid player is a focus of two different pieces from The Athletic today.

Blues’ beat reporter Jeremy Rutherford penned a column about the smaller changes that Doug Armstrong was forced to make to the roster (recalling Josh Leivo and Nikita Alexandrov), while Pierre LeBrun touched on several potential trade candidates including O’Reilly, teammate Vladimir Tarasenko, and Vancouver Canucks captain Bo Horvat. Both O’Reilly and Tarasenko are unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and if the Blues don’t turn things around quickly, could find themselves on the move by the March deadline.

  • It should come as no surprise that former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban has signed a three-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time studio analyst, given his boisterous, charismatic personality. The network had tried him out in the past during the playoffs and ESPN’s Mark Gross calls Subban’s perspective “unique” because of how recently he retired.
  • The Boston Bruins had to clear some extra cap space to activate Charlie McAvoy, and PuckPedia confirms that they have moved Derek Forbort to long-term injured reserve to do it. That doesn’t really solve the issue but does give them a bit more time to figure out how they will make everything fit. Mike Reilly, after clearing waivers today, was sent to the minor leagues to clear a bit more space.

Derek Forbort Out Week-To-Week

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The Boston Bruins have lost another valuable contributor to a week-to-week injury. Per a team announcement, defenseman Derek Forbort underwent successful surgery on his right middle finger, and the expected recovery time is four to six weeks.

Forbort, 30, had played in all ten of the Bruins’ games this season up until tonight. He’s been an important cog in the Bruins’ blueline, handling 18:48 time on ice per game and leading the team in short-handed ice time per game. Forbort has three points as well so far this season and has been one of new coach Jim Montgomery’s most trusted defenders.

The Bruins are currently missing Charlie McAvoy, David Krejci, Jeremy Swayman, and Craig Smith due to injury, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting off to an NHL-best 9-1 start.

Veteran defenseman Anton Stralman, who earned a job in Boston after arriving on a PTO, will likely take Forbort’s defense-first role. The injury could also provide some opportunity for the Bruins to get a longer look at Jakub Zboril or Mike Reilly, who are both currently healthy scratches.

While this injury is far from an ideal development for Boston, the team has overcome all injury troubles they’ve faced so far this season. While this injury may hurt their penalty kill in the short-term, the Bruins have played well enough so far this year to give confidence that they can survive in Forbort’s absence.

Brad Marchand, Derek Forbort Earn Fines

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The Boston Bruins are down two games in their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, and now a pair of their players are down a few more dollars. Derek Forbort and Brad Marchand have both been issued $5,000 fines for actions in last night’s game.

Forbort’s incident came early in the third period when he rather recklessly swung his stick toward Teuvo Teravainen, hitting him directly in the face. It was given a four-minute double-minor from the on-ice officials, half of the eight minutes that Forbort would receive on the night in just 16 minutes of ice time. A key penalty killer for the Bruins, he’ll have to keep his stick in check, as a fine will lead the Department of Player Safety to keep a closer eye on his actions moving forward, and result in increased punishments for any further transgressions.

Marchand meanwhile is already under the watchful eye of the DoPS every time he steps on the ice. His fine stems from a slash on Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov after the two exchanged words in the second period. Both Marchand and Kochetkov were given penalties for slashing on the play, though it is Marchand who also receives the fine–likely due in part to his long history with the league’s supplementary discipline process.

Jakob Chychrun Out Two To Four Weeks

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No player has been talked about as much or as long this season as Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun. The 23-year-old is a supremely skilled blue liner coming off of a 41-point season and carrying a very palatable $4.6MM cap hit through the 2024-25 season. Yet, the rebuilding ’Yotes have reportedly been willing to trade him for the right price in hopes of drawing a return that would better suit their timeline for contention than Chychrun’s contract. By no means was Arizona shopping the young star, but they were willing to listen and wait for a godfather offer.

Well, that offer may not be coming this season. Chychrun was injured on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, falling awkwardly against the board following a Derek Forbort check. Chychrun left the game and did not return and yesterday the team announced that he was flying back to Glendale to be examined by team doctors. Those test results have now come back and the team has announced that Chychrun will miss the next two to four weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.

This is far from a worst-case scenario for the Coyotes – or Chychrun’s suitors – and doesn’t completely rule out a trade occurring before the deadline next Monday. After all, a Chychrun acquisition is a long-term move rather than a rental deal. The talented rearguard avoided long-term injury and that is all that matters in the big picture. However, the injury does substantially lessen the odds of a deal being made this week. Most teams eyeing Chychrun are contenders or at least battling for a playoff spot and will think twice about paying full price for an injured player guaranteed to miss time down the stretch. As such, Arizona is not going to accept a reduced offer for their most valuable trade chip just because he could miss a few weeks of his remaining three plus years under contract. The Coyotes are under no obligation or time pressure to trade Chychrun and will wait as long as it takes to be blown away by an offer.

In the meantime, Chychrun is still on the active roster for the time being, merely scratched from the lineup for Monday night’s game. Whether he remains on the roster or is moved to the injured reserve, Chychrun’s recovery timeline implies that he will not play again before the deadline. Interested teams have seen plenty of him this year to make a decision before the deadline, and Arizona will still be open to an offer they can’t refuse, but in all likelihood the Chychrun saga will continue into the offseason or beyond.

Atlantic Notes: Kuzmenko, Boucher, Bruins, Allen

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Free agent winger Andrei Kuzmenko appears to have narrowed his list of teams he’s considering signing with for next season and the Senators are on that list, reports Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link).  Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion indicated recently they were interested in the 25-year-old who sits second in KHL scoring this season with 20 goals and 33 assists in 45 games.  Kuzmenko is expected to wait until after the season to sign, ensuring he’ll be capped at a one-year, entry-level pact while allowing him to be eligible for unrestricted free agency in the 2023 offseason.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Still with Ottawa, Dorion mentioned in an appearance on 630 CHED (audio link) that winger Tyler Boucher won’t be playing right away with OHL Ottawa. The Senators recently signed the 2021 first-round pick, ending his college eligibility but he is dealing with a lingering injury that will take a week or two to recover.
  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Derek Forbort has cleared COVID protocol, missing only the minimum five days. His return will be a welcome one with John Moore being injured against Montreal on Wednesday and Matt Grzelcyk recently entering COVID protocol himself.  Meanwhile, forward Trent Frederic isn’t ready to return yet from his upper-body injury while winger Nick Foligno has resumed skating as he works his way back from his lower-body issue.
  • The Canadiens announced that goaltender Jake Allen has returned to Montreal to undergo further evaluation on an upper-body injury sustained on Wednesday in Boston. Allen was placed on injured reserve yesterday and will miss at least a week while the team won’t return back home until January 27th when their 10-game road trip (due to scheduling changes) comes to an end.

Boston Bruins Place Three In COVID Protocol

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Jan 13: Matt Grzelcyk has now entered the protocol, along with another staff member. The Bruins recalled Tyler Lewington and Jack Ahcan today; the former would be making his Bruins debut should he enter the lineup as expected.

Jan 10: The Boston Bruins placed defensemen Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, and a team staff member into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol within an hour of puck drop of their game against the Washington Capitals tonight, per a team tweet.

In their absences, it’s likely that Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore will make up the bottom pair for tonight’s game. Warmups have already begun and the Bruins have no other defensemen on the active roster to fill in.

Forbort, who’s in his first season as a Bruin, has seven points through 31 games this year and has bounced around the team’s defensive pairings. He offers little offensively, but he’s had really good defensive impacts since joining Boston. His ability and versatility will certainly be missed while he’s in protocol.

Clifton has played in just 22 games, scoring two points, but he’s also been rather reliable defensively when in the lineup. Vaakanainen and Moore will need to play a responsible game in his and Forbort’s absences.

If all goes well, Clifton and Forbort could return January 18th against Carolina, the team’s first game after the conclusion of what could be five-day quarantines for them.

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