Report: Bruins, free agent Derek Forbort agree on three-year deal

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The Boston Bruins have made their first acquisition in NHL free agency.

Veteran defenseman Derek Forbort has agreed to sign a three-year contract with the Bruins, per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports the deal is worth $9 million with a $3 million salary cap hit.

Tracking all of the NHL free agency movement on Day 1

Forbort addresses a few needs for the Bruins.ย 

They needed to add some toughness and size to their blue line. Forbort is listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and plays a physical game. He ranked fifth among all defensemen in blocked shots last season.

Boston also had to add a defenseman who could kill penalties, especially after losing two reliable penalty killing defensemen in Kevan Miller (retirement) and Jeremy Lauzon (expansion draft) over the last couple weeks.

Forbort led the Winnipeg Jets with 2:43 of shorthanded ice time per game in 2020-21. He played 20:45 per game overall.

The Bruins still need a top-four defenseman to play next to Brandon Carlo. Just adding Forbort is not good enough for Boston. That said, Forbort does give the Bruins some of the skills/traits they lost when Miller and Lauzon departed.

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