Illegal Curve Hockey

Categories: Afternoon DelightAnaheim DucksAtlanta ThrashersBoston BruinsOttawa Senators

Afternoon Delight

The Thrashers have signed Tobias Enstrom to a four-year contract extension. Kevin Allen just reported that the deal is for $3.75 million per season. To be honest, that may be a bit much. Enstrom came from fairly off the radar last season to post impressive stats with the lowly Thrashers. He is small but smart with his positioning and a good puck-mover. Even so, he has only played one NHL season and there is no telling if he can repeat his successful rookie campaign. In this case, the Thrashers may have been better off letting him play the season out and then negotiating (would have been RFA). He probably couldn’t have demanded much more than an annual salary of $3.75 million anyways.
James Mirtle is completely on point with his thoughts on the NHL’s pre-season schedule being utterly ridiculous. There are too many games and certainly way too many back-to-back games. Either extend training camp or cut down the pre-season games.
Are the Ducks considering a Bobby Ryan trade? Allen is as reputable as you can get, but I don’t see Ryan being dealt. The Ducks have invested time and money into him and to trade him just before he seems to be coming into his own would be an odd move to save some money. They will probably buyout one or two of their excess veteran forwards (Marchant?) before dealing the talented Ryan.
The Senators have gotten rid of pay-per-view games this season. I don’t like pay-per-view games. Television packages cost enough these days, never mind the NHL Centre Ice package. Teams should be broadcasting these games to the largest possible audience and not essentially punish fans who just can’t afford to pay that extra money to watch their team play.
Chuck Kobasew is coming off of a fractured tibia and is behind his usual pace at Bruins camp. Look for the Bruins to ease Kobasew into the line up and give him extra rest when necessary.