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Season Preview: Atlanta Thrashers, Class of '08-'09
Puck Daddy — ... a GOP campaign stop in Atlanta. The Hall Monitors (Defensemen): In another season, Tobias Enstrom would have been a Calder finalist; instead, he'll have to settle for having more points (38) in his rookie season than Jay Bouwmeester or Andrej Meszaros had last year. Regression is not an option for Enstrom. He hit the wall last season in a major way, and can't repeat that in his sophomore campaign. Niclas Havelid can be a work horse if needed. Garnet Exelby can be a physical presence when he isn't losing ...

Anaheim's All-Time Team: the 5th and 6th Defensemen
Battle of California — ... "Cirque du Salei" was a mainstay for a decade on the Anaheim blueline, and his 594 regular season games is tops of all Anaheim defensemen. He was tough, dirty, and at times had above-average hockey sense, though there was always the sense he had the tools to be even better. Still, when the Ducks were down 3 games to 2 to Calgary in the 1st round of the 2006 playoffs, I thought that Salei more than anyone really elevated his play to help the team advance. Plus he's from Belarus. Niclas Havelid (1999-00 to 2003-04) 310 gp, 24-61-85, -42 Ah, ...