Tue Jul 1 17:44:56 2008

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Avalanche bring in Tucker, Raycroft

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Denver, CO (Sports Network) - The Colorado Avalanche added two more players on Tuesday, signing gritty forward Darcy Tucker to a two-year deal and goaltender Andrew Raycroft to a one-year contract.

According to a Denver newspaper, Tucker's contract is worth $4.5 million.

Last season with Toronto, the 33-year-old Alberta native and permanent thorn in the opposition's side posted 18 goals and 16 assists along with 100 penalty minutes in 74 games. However, his goal and point production has decreased in each of the last three campaigns.

Over 12 seasons in the NHL, including stints to begin his career with Montreal and Tampa Bay, Tucker has appeared in 813 games and totaled 197 goals and 239 assists along with 1,296 penalty minutes.

Tucker's addition may alleviate the potential departure of veteran forward Ian Laperriere, who served a similar purpose for the Avs over the last three years.

Raycroft was apparently deemed expendable by the Maple Leafs after losing his starting job to Vesa Toskala during last season. Toronto gave Raycroft a three-year deal after acquiring him from the Boston Bruins prior to the 2006-07 season.

Despite a 37-25-9 record with a 2.99 goals against average and a pair of shutouts two years ago, Raycroft faltered to a dismal 2-9-5 mark last season in only 19 games.

The 2004 Calder Trophy winner as rookie of the year is expected to compete for a starting job with Peter Budaj. His acquisition is the latest in Colorado's efforts to find an elite starting netminder. Both David Aebischer and Jose Theodore have failed to take the mantle from Patrick Roy since the Hall of Famer's 2003 retirement.