Despite practicing in a regular jersey and absorbing full contact, it does not appear that veteran defenseman Derek Forbort is in line to return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Irfaan Gaffar reported on Tuesday afternoon that Forbort, alongside Erik Brannstrom, will be out of the lineup for the Canucks, while veterans Mark Friedman and Vincent Desharnais will partner up to anchor the bottom of the defensive lineup. This lineup change has not been officially confirmed by the Canucks.
Sounds like Erik Brannstrom will be a healthy scratch tonight for the Canucks. Mark Friedman will draw into the lineup and play with Vinny Desharnais.
— Irfaan Gaffar (@irfgaffar) December 10, 2024
Forbort, 32, practiced on Tuesday morning on a defense pairing alongside third-unit mainstay Brannstrom, who ironically initially earned a place in the lineup due to Forbort's absence. It is worth noting that Forbort has only appeared in four games this season, recording an assist in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 11.
The 6-foot-4 former first-round pick played again four days later against Tampa Bay on Oct. 15 before stepping away from the Canucks for a few weeks to cope with the tragic loss of his father. Forbort returned for a Nov. 2 meeting with San Jose before leaving the Canucks again, this time with a lower-body injury that was later deemed to be a week-to-week ordeal.
Although it has not been confirmed whether Forbort is in or out of the Canucks lineup, he is preparing to return to the team at an important time. Top defenseman Filip Hronek will be out several weeks after undergoing an operation, so Vancouver will take all the back-end reinforcements it can find for the time being.