Don't tell Eric Boulton Atlanta isn't a good place for a hockey player. Boulton, a 31-year-old left wing who lives here year-round, re-signed with the Thrashers on Wednesday eight days after becoming an unrestricted free agent.

The two-year, $1.2 million contract is a $75,000-a-year raise and his first multi-year deal with the team he joined in 2005.

"It's nice. We like it here. We wanted to stay here," Boulton said. "I think Atlanta is getting a bad rap right now [from other NHL players]. Our fans are fantastic. You can't ask for a better city to raise a family in."

Boulton and his wife have three children, and a fourth is due in late October.

Boulton played 74 games last season and scored four goals with five assists. He led the team with 127 penalty minutes.

"He knows his role very well," Thrashers general manager Don Waddell said. "There's a time when he knows he's got to go stir it up, and there's times you don't want to stir it up when things are going well. He stands up for teammates very well.

"He's a great guy in our locker room and very well-liked and well-respected by his teammates."

Boulton said he had contract discussions with a few other teams but declined to name them.

The Thrashers also signed three other unrestricted free agents, forwards Junior Lessard, Grant Stevenson and Mike Hoffman.

Lessard, 28, appeared in 21 games last season with Dallas and Tampa Bay. Lessard won the 2003-04 Hoby Baker Award as the nation's top college player while at the University of Minnesota – Duluth.

Stevenson, 26, led Quad City (AHL) with 73 points and 43 assists, and tied for the team lead with 30 goals in 80 games last season.

Hoffman, 27, had eight points (five goals, three assists) for Portland (AHL) last season.