Confirmed with Link: Derek Forbort - 3 yrs @ 3 Mil AAA

[RussellmaniaKW]

not ready to give a verdict on this guy yet, but after 2 games:
game 1 I thought he was steady and did everything I want out of him. He was quiet, but effective defensively, made a couple nice plays where he kept a good gap and boxed his man out preventing a chance, was calm with the puck, etc.

game 2 I thought he was a trainwreck. He whiffed on multiple simple breakout passes under no pressure, had a bad pinch on one of the goals against, and just seemed to be generally running around. This game made me see why he has a reputation as a turnover machine. His vision is pretty bad. Actually there was a shot of him on the bench in game 1 and it looked like he has a lazy or glass eye. Is that the case? Not trying to be funny, but that would explain why his first pass is so awful.

Anyway, I hope this guy isn't a jekyll & hyde type player where he flip flops like this every other game. If he can be the game 1 guy consistently then he's a great value and good partner for McAvoy, but if we get the game 2 guy often then we have a serious problem.

 

[BradMarchandismydad]

not ready to give a verdict on this guy yet, but after 2 games:
game 1 I thought he was steady and did everything I want out of him. He was quiet, but effective defensively, made a couple nice plays where he kept a good gap and boxed his man out preventing a chance, was calm with the puck, etc.

game 2 I thought he was a trainwreck. He whiffed on multiple simple breakout passes under no pressure, had a bad pinch on one of the goals against, and just seemed to be generally running around. This game made me see why he has a reputation as a turnover machine. His vision is pretty bad. Actually there was a shot of him on the bench in game 1 and it looked like he has a lazy or glass eye. Is that the case? Not trying to be funny, but that would explain why his first pass is so awful.

Anyway, I hope this guy isn't a jekyll & hyde type player where he flip flops like this every other game. If he can be the game 1 guy consistently then he's a great value and good partner for McAvoy, but if we get the game 2 guy often then we have a serious problem.

People in Winnipeg did not like Forbort.

Maybe he turns it around for us, but as of now I just don't think he's a top pairing guy. Would love to eat crow here, though.

 

[TCB]

not ready to give a verdict on this guy yet, but after 2 games:
game 1 I thought he was steady and did everything I want out of him. He was quiet, but effective defensively, made a couple nice plays where he kept a good gap and boxed his man out preventing a chance, was calm with the puck, etc.

game 2 I thought he was a trainwreck. He whiffed on multiple simple breakout passes under no pressure, had a bad pinch on one of the goals against, and just seemed to be generally running around. This game made me see why he has a reputation as a turnover machine. His vision is pretty bad. Actually there was a shot of him on the bench in game 1 and it looked like he has a lazy or glass eye. Is that the case? Not trying to be funny, but that would explain why his first pass is so awful.

Anyway, I hope this guy isn't a jekyll & hyde type player where he flip flops like this every other game. If he can be the game 1 guy consistently then he's a great value and good partner for McAvoy, but if we get the game 2 guy often then we have a serious problem.

I think that's what he is, nothing great, but if he can be steady and solid, he will fit in with the rest of the Bruins on the left side which is far from eye dropping, excluding Grizz and to his defense, he's coming from playing man to man to zone defense, so ill give him a few games but a zone defensemen concept isn't that hard or should I say it shouldn't be for an NHL defenseman.

 

[Aussie Bruin]

I think that's what he is, nothing great, but if he can be steady and solid, he will fit in with the rest of the Bruins on the left side which is far from eye dropping, excluding Grizz and to his defense, he's coming from playing man to man to zone defense, so ill give him a few games but a zone defensemen concept isn't that hard or should I say it shouldn't be for an NHL defenseman.

Sweeney seems to have gotten it into his head that just because Tampa have been successful with pretty ordinary players like Rutta and Cernak in their top 4 then the Bruins can do it too, hence bringing in a steady JAG like Forbort and expecting that he can shoulder significant top pair minutes and it'll fine, because McAvoy is there with him. Could say something similar about Reilly who I actually really rate, but who still has to prove whether his 2021 season was a genuine breakout or a flash in the pan. Regardless, problem is that McAvoy and Carlo are not yet Hedman and McDonagh, our forwards are not as potent as the Bolts' have been, and we don't have the league's best goaltender in net.

And I think that's the challenge for Forbort - I trust he's going to do a decent enough job and give an honest account of himself, but you have to wonder if really he's going to come up short too often because he's being asked to fulfil a task that's beyond him. I don't think he's a bad player but I suspect he may become a bad signing.

 

[Kalus]

People in Winnipeg did not like Forbort.

Maybe he turns it around for us, but as of now I just don't think he's a top pairing guy. Would love to eat crow here, though.

He is decidedly not a top pairing guy, any fanbase where he played will tell you that, but he should be a serviceable bottom pair guy. Not a great contract for that, but it isn't terrible. The McAvoy partnership won't last long. Grizz will steadily take a larger and larger share of that time over the next six weeks or so.

 

[Dr Hook]

He is decidedly not a top pairing guy, any fanbase where he played will tell you that, but he should be a serviceable bottom pair guy. Not a great contract for that, but it isn't terrible. The McAvoy partnership won't last long. Grizz will steadily take a larger and larger share of that time over the next six weeks or so.

I expect so. Forbort is clearly an NHL caliber defenseman but he hasn't looked great so far, more like a bottom pairing guy and good PKer to me. Something like we had in McQuaid and Miller with a less physicality. I agree with you his contract isn't horrid even if a little on the high side.

 

[CDJ]

Wouldn’t shock me to see him out there protecting late leads with McAvoy, that’s about the extent of his “top pairing” ability. I’d play Grizz in every other situation

 

[arider1990]

Wouldn’t shock me to see him out there protecting late leads with McAvoy, that’s about the extent of his “top pairing” ability. I’d play Grizz in every other situation

McAvoy won't be out there, Carlo will.

 

[b in vancouver]

People in Winnipeg did not like Forbort.

Maybe he turns it around for us, but as of now I just don't think he's a top pairing guy. Would love to eat crow here, though.

They didn't dislike him per-se, the just think he was miscast. My 85 year-old mom is a diehard Jets fan (thank god they got the team back) and I spend my summer's out in cottage country in Manitoba - meaning it's one of the teams I hear about often (and just realized I'm wearing my kids' Jets cap at the moment).
Jets went through a lot of turmoil over a few years with their defence which is similar to what The Bruins are going through - so everything was under a microscope. It went from amazing to crap to good in a short time-span.
Forbort isn't a guy to anchor a top-pairing but he's a solid player. Just got heat in Winnipeg as they lost the whole top-end of their d.

 

[bob77]

Forbort has extensive experience playing against the top players in the entire league. He’s on his fifth coach to put him on the top pair. Sutter, Stevens, Willie D, hurt for McClelland, traded to Calgary (3rd pair, 1stPK, started to close out games shutdown, free agent Winnipeg Maurice (Forbort Pionk were top pair despite everyone talking Morrissey), and now Cassidy, although we will see how long it lasts.

 

[bob77]

Fluto with a good article on Forbort today:

Derek Forbort’s crash course on Bruins' zone defense: Squash and slide, pass-offs and staying tight

Derek Forbort has 331 games of NHL experience. He has yet to log his first, however, as a Bruin. This means he’s turning to Charlie McAvoy, six years his junior, to serve as his temporary on-ice conductor.

“He’s been doing a good job at helping me out with new terminology and D-zone style,” Forbort said. “It’s a little different from what I played before.”

Forbort is the lone newbie to the blue line. The 29-year-old’s trick is to learn the nuances of the Bruins’ zone defense. It doesn’t come naturally for a defenseman who played man-to-man in Winnipeg. Some of the Bruins’ defensive principles, in fact, are black compared to the Jets’ white.
Time will tell how well Forbort adjusts.

LA, Calgary played man also

 

[Dellstrom]

McAvoy won't be out there, Carlo will.

I feel like these two things aren’t mutually exclusive

 

[UncleRico]

Somehow only a portion of my message sent and don’t feel like writing it out again so I deleted it.

 

[inactive user]

 

[DKH]

Beers said has been good - likes him

 

[Over the volcano]

People in Winnipeg did not like Forbort.

Maybe he turns it around for us, but as of now I just don't think he's a top pairing guy. Would love to eat crow here, though.

Think it’s a pairing thing - Like how Chara was given guys who would be 5-8 on the depth chart alone but next to Z were now “top pair”. They’re hoping he can fit with McAvoy and let him be a little more dynamic across the ice

 

[Dr Hook]

He's good at what he does well- the issue I guess people will have with him is expecting him to be something he isn't. Some of that is on management for setting up that expectation. Playing with Moore on the 3rd pair I think he found his level, that and lead defending situations, PK minutes.