Derek Morris signs contract in Boston

Despite a great regular season that culminated in securing the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins were not able to deliver in the post-season. More specifically, the franchise around Marc Savard and Marco Sturm did not manage to get past the Carolina Hurricanes in the Conference Semi-Finals series that included a nail-biter in game seven. Thus, the Bruins are currently examining their options during the off-season and will carefully analyze what went wrong and how to fix it. Most importantly, they will have to evaluate whether their disappointing crunch time performance was simply bad luck or could point to a lack of veteran leadership.

Today, the Bruins’ front office officially announced that they were able to acquire defender Derek Morris who will receive a one-year contract worth roughly $3 million. Although his career hit a slump last year when he scored only 5 goals and 25 points, he can still be considered a valuable addition. Especially his defensive toughness and remarkable offensive production from the blue line puts him in the small group of offensive minded defensemen. Throughout his 12 years in the league he played for the Calgary Flames,       Colorado Avalanche, Phoenix Coyotes and New York Rangers. Appearing in 793 NHL games Derek Morris was able to score 76 goals and added 264 assists for a total of 340 points. Moreover, his veteran presence should help the team to mature and might be a factor in close post-season games when the entire season is on the line.

Even though the acquisition of Derek Morris will not single handedly fix all of the Bruins’ problems, it certainly addresses the lack of veteran leadership and will enhance Boston’s offensive capabilities as well. Likewise, the Bruins also underwent significant injury problems last season, most importantly Marco Sturm who was out for most of the year. If the team manages to stay healthy and adds one or two more pieces over the summer the Boston Bruins can be expected to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender next year.

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