The ink was barely dry on Nik Antropov's four-year, $16-million US contract with the Atlanta Thrashers yesterday when the big Kazakh made an urgent phone call.
The recipient: Pavel Kubina, his former Maple Leaf teammate.
"He's excited about being able to play together again," Antropov told Sun Media last night. "So am I."
Less than 24 hours after Kubina was traded to the Thrashers by the Leafs, Antropov agreed to a deal with Atlanta. There, he will be greeted by another familiar face in the person of Ilya Kovalchuk, his teammate with Ak-Bars Kazan of the Russian elite league during the lockout of 2004-05.
"I'd love to play on a line with him," Antropov said with a chuckle. "He's so skilled, who wouldn't? But that decision is up to (coach John Anderson)."
