Flames acquire Derek Forbort from Kings and Erik Gustafsson from Hawks
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoThe Calgary Flames have added a pair of defenders. According to many media reports, the Flames have acquired defenseman Derek Forbort from the Los Angeles Kings and Erik Gustafsson from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Forbort, 27, is from Minnesota and is a left shot defender with a $2.525 million cap hit. He’s on an expiring deal and will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He’s got one point in 13 games with the Kings this season, between (a) a lingering back injury and (b) the Kings rotating their defenders through their healthy scratch spot. He’s been playing with Drew Doughty on the top pairing lately, but he’s fundamentally a reliable two-way defender.
The trade is a conditional 2021 fourth round pick for Forbort. If the Flames make the conference final AND Forbort plays in half the playoff games OR if Forbort re-signs, it becomes a 2022 third round pick.
Gustafsson, 27, is from Sweden and is a left shot defender with a $1.2 million cap hit. He’s also on an expiring deal and will be a UFA on July 1. He’s got 26 points in 59 games this season and has seen power play time. He’s more of an offensive-minded guy than Forbort.
The trade is a conditional 2020 third round pick (the earlier of whatever picks the Flames have) for Gustafsson.
Recent articles from Ryan Pike
