Atlanta signs free agent forward Afinogenov

Craig Custance The Atlanta Thrashers and free agent forward Maxim Afinogenov agreed to a one-year contract worth $800,0000. Afinogenov joined the Thrashers training camp on a professional tryout and despite fighting an illness during camp, played well enough to earn a new deal. He had a goal and an assist in his best preseason game, a loss to Carolina on Friday. The Thrashers are getting good value in Afinogenov who had a salary cap hit of $3.3 million last season with the Sabres. He scored only six goals in 48 games last season, but give his agent Don Meehan credit for finding him a good situation in Atlanta to boost those numbers. Playing in John Anderson¹s high-octane offense with fellow Russians Ilya Kovalchuk and Nik Antropov, Afinogenov has a chance to approach the numbers he had in his best years with the Sabres, including a 73-point season in 2005-06.