Avs Acquire Morris

The Colorado Avalanche boosted their defense Tuesday, acquiring young defenseman Derek Morris from the Calgary Flames in a multiplayer deal involving clutch performer Chris Drury.

The Avalanche sent Drury and fellow forward Stephane Yelle to the Flames for Morris and veteran forwards Jeff Shantz and Dean McAmmond.

Morris was Calgary’s highest-scoring defenseman with thirty assists and a total of thirty-four points in only sixty-one games.

Drury scored twenty-one goals and notched twenty-five assists for the Avalanche last season. He had three game-winning goals in Colorado’s playoff run. Yelle had five goals and twelve assists.

Shantz played only forty games last season due to injury. He started his ten-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded to Calgary in 1998.

McAmmond joins his fifth NHL team, having played for Edmonton, Chicago and Philadelphia before joining Calgary last season. His twenty-one goals and thirty assists were good for third in Flames’ team scoring.

Morris will fill the void in the Avalanche defense left by the departure of Darius Kasparaitis, who signed this summer with the New York Rangers. He joins Rob Blake and Adam Foote as the strength of the Colorado blue line.

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Colorado defenseman Lance Pitlick announced his retirement today.