Jets’ Enstrom gets settled back in Winnipeg

After a brief jaunt in Austria and some practice time in his home in Sweden, Tobias Enstrom told the Winnipeg Free Press that he’s getting comfortable in his second home – Winnipeg – in hopes that hockey will pick back up.

“This is my home now,” Enstrom said. “It feels good to be back. I miss the guys, too. To see some of the guys, be practicing with them, it felt like a good choice for me.”

Enstrom is one of the NHL’s more underrated blueliners. He’s put together two 50+ point seasons in five years and has never generated fewer than 32 in any campaign. The defenseman was limited to 33 points in 2011-12, but that’s after missing 20 contests.

While his overseas experiences were dicey, Enstrom is likely less anxious than most NHL players as the lockout rages on.

He was scheduled to make $4.5 million this season, but a new contract extension will pay him $5.75 million per season through 2017-18, so Enstrom’s future seems secure.

(Unless all contracts end up being null and void, of course.)