Maxim Afinogenov

NHL franchises realize that it is not good business to allow fans to get a clear view of the business side of hockey.

Business can be hard and cold and it can take away from the romance and excitement of the fastest game on earth.  

Some very interesting rumors going around the NHL, so I'll just get down to it.

Multiple teams, including the Toronto Maple Leafs, were attempting to sign forward John Madden. He has signed with the Minnesota Wild. Interesting signing to say the least, he is old and would be a solid bottom six forward for a competing team. The Wild did not even make the playoffs this year. It works well for the Wild as he is a proven veteran, but Madden could have had a shot with a Stanley Cup contender.

The Atlanta Thrashers have been very active making logical and well calculated, if not popular personnel moves prior to the start of training camp. Colby Armstrong and Pavel Kubina were allowed to depart the team. Forward Max Afinogenov was given his walking papers after failing to reach agreement on a contract.

This sounds like it could be a busy week in the NHL. Here are the latest rumors that I have been hearing in the past few days.

Brian Burke is coming home from his fishing trip today, which means he will focus on moving Kaberle before August 15 when Kaberle's NTC kicks in. Brian Burke will be looking for a top-six forward for sure, anything extra is just a bonus. Rumor has it up to 10 teams are interested in Kaberle.

The wait for Ilya Kovalchuk to sign has finally ended. Yesterday, the 27-year-old winger announced a jaw-dropping 17-year deal with the New Jersey Devils, with whom he finished the 2009-2010 season.

As expected, Kovalchuk's decision, which had been keeping NHL fans and experts alike on the edge of their seats for nearly three weeks, stirred the league into yet another "Free Agent Frenzy."

Just hours afterward, Philadelphia traded longtime forward Simon Gagne to Tampa Bay for defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

If a team is still looking for a right wing this off-season, they're going to have to look from the very top of the list "right" down to the very bottom in hopes of finding one on the free agent market.

Bad puns aside, that could very well be true. From the very start of NHL free agency this summer, which opened July 1st, the pool of UFA right wings has been very, very shallow.

It was a busy week in the NHL, here is a recap of everything that happened as well as some rumors of what might be on the horizon.

Give the new Thrashers GM a lot of credit.

Each year it is a tradition in our country to spend some time reflecting on our accomplishments and failures. The New Years holiday is celebrated with great optimism and joy. It allows us to look forward to beginning a new or starting all over. It allows us to focus on the positive projections of the future. The Atlanta Thrashers like many other hockey clubs are looking to improve on their first half performance as they look forward to making the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The super trio of Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk headline Russia's  star-saturated, 23-man provisional hockey roster for the Vancouver Olympics, just unveiled.

Other stars on head coach Vyacheslav Bykov's club include forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Alexander Semin, defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Andrei Markov, and goaltenders Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov.