The Calgary Flames have added depth to their blueline in the wake of recent injuries to stalwarts Mark Giordano and Travis Hamonic.
Derek Forbort will join the team on the second stop of a five-game road trip after Flames general manager Brad Treliving made a deal with the Los Angeles Kings for the 27-year-old defenceman.
The Kings get a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft from the Flames for Forbort.
Treliving also acquired left-shot defenceman Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks, giving up a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. The 27-year-old Swede has logged 59 NHL games this season and added six goals and 20 assists in that span. Gustafsson carries a US$1.2-million cap hit and has played 214 NHL games, all with the Blackhawks.
The deals were made official by the Flames at 2:30 p.m.
In the Kings’ Sunday’s 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, Forbort logged 23:01 of icetime and was a minus-1. A back injury has limited the native of Duluth, Minn., to 13 games this season having only made his return to the lineup on Jan. 6.
Forbort, a 6-foot-4, 219-lb. blueliner with 268 NHL games, carries a cap hit of $2.525 million and is also capable of penalty killing. On a pairing with Drew Doughty, Forbort is often up against quality competition on a nightly basis.
Giordano skated with the Flames on Monday as the team practised at Boston University and is recovering from a hamstring injury. Hamonic, meanwhile, is not with the team as he recovers from an upper body injury.
The Flames also dealt defenceman Brandon Davidson to the San Jose Sharks.
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