After having just returned to the Vancouver Canucks on Oct. 28 following the passing of his father, veteran defenseman Derek Forbort is slated to be out from action again for the foreseeable future.
Forbort suffered an injury to his leg during Canucks practice on Monday after getting tangled up with another player and has not returned to practice since. Head coach Rick Tocchet did not have an immediate update, though Tocchet has since revealed that Forbort will be out "week-to-week" with his injury.
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Forbort, 32, has played in only four games this season since signing with the Canucks on the opening day of free agency on July 1, recording one assist. After returning to the team, Forbort got back into game action on Nov. 2, playing 15:18 in a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Forbort has already been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Los Angeles Kings, and it is likely he will miss at least the next two games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, too.
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In the interim, the Canucks will continue to deploy AHL call-up Erik Brannstrom on his usual defense pair and rotate in struggling veterans Vincent Desharnais and Noah Juulsen as needed. Neither Desharnais nor Juulsen has particularly impressed Tocchet and the Canucks, which is why Forbort took their places, albeit for only one game, against the Sharks.