CALGARY – Toby Enstrom knows exactly what some of you are thinking.

While quietly putting together an impressive season on the blue-line of the Winnipeg Jets, Enstrom has long been the subject of debate among fans of the hockey club.

One faction looks only at the salary ($5.75 million cap hit for two more seasons after this one) and point totals (two goals, 15 points in 69 games) before quickly coming to the conclusion that Enstrom isn't earning his keep and that he should be traded, even though he has a full no-movement clause in his contract.

But those who work closely with the Swedish defenceman paint a far different picture.

With a defence corps that also features the likes of Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers and Jacob Trouba, it's easy for Enstrom to fly under the radar.

To be perfectly honest, that's just the way Enstrom likes it, at least when it comes to the attention (or lack thereof) that he receives.

“He goes unmentioned a lot, but in this locker room, we know how important he is,” said Jets forward Chris Thorburn, who along with Enstrom is the longest tenured member of the organization, at nine seasons. “For Toby, it's his hockey sense. It would be hard to find someone who thinks the game the way he does and understands it. He's a guy that wants to win, he competes and he's a quiet leader.”

The Winnipeg Jets (29-35-5) will attempt to put together their first three-game winning streak of the season on Wednesday when they face the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Enstrom broke into the NHL in 2007-08 as a rookie with the Atlanta Thrashers and it didn't take long before he was putting up some impressive numbers.

In his early years, he was a point-producing machine, racking up 50 and 51 points for the Thrashers over consecutive seasons.

But since the Jets relocated, Enstrom's highest point total was 33 and that came in 2011-12, when Enstrom missed 20 games due to injury

There's been a decline in each of the subsequent seasons, but Enstrom's value to his club has perhaps never been higher, especially if you look at the underlying numbers.

“There's one truth to our defence. Whoever is Toby's partner, according to the analytics, gives up fewer red-zone shots, gets more red-zone shots, turnovers cut down, clean entries go up,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “For a man his size, he's incredibly effective at taking the puck out of a tough area and putting it on somebody's stick. He's just been fantastic. He's played exceptionally well this year.”

Enstrom, 31, would love to chip in a bit more offensively and he even mentioned to me during a training camp interview that he knows he should shoot on a more regular basis.

But at the end of the day, the Jets have other defencemen who can carry the offensive load.

“When I came over, I was an offensive guy. But over the years, I developed my overall game and that's something I want to do every year. That's something that keeps you going, that you want to get better in every part of the game,” said Enstrom. “(The decrease in production) isn't something I think about, that I put up 50 points back in the day.

“You want to be the guy that can help the team win. You always hope to play more, but in the end, the older you get ... you want to win. You want to be in the hunt and you want to be in the playoffs.”

Enstrom has been to the post-season just once in nine seasons, so he's happy to make personal sacrifices if it means getting another chance to chase the Stanley Cup.

Just in case you thought this Enstrom love-fest was merely a product of asking people within the Jets organization, let's give the final word to Vancouver Canucks forward Daniel Sedin.

“His skating ability is second to none, he always makes the great first pass and he has a great stick. For him, it's about the reads that he makes,” Sedin told me earlier this week. “I know it's a tough comparison but he reminds me of (Nicklas) Lidstrom a little bit. Not overly physical, but he's always in the right place at the right time.

“I don't think he's underrated. I just think he's really good.”

kwiebe@postmedia.ca

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