Cam Atkinson is a Columbus Hockey icon both on and off the ice

On July 24^th, 2021, there was a trade that absolutely no one saw coming, Cam Atkinson was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jake Voracek.

Cam Atkinson, the 6^th round pick out of Connecticut was a fan favorite and was a CBJ legend so far in his Columbus Career. After the 20-21 season, he had played 10 years and 627 games as a Blue Jacket. In those 10 seasons he would go on to score 213 goals, which puts him second all-time behind Rick Nash. His 189 assists have him 4^th on the all-time CBJ list and he had 402 points, which is also second all-time. He scored 42 power play goals and chipped in 16 short handed goals. His 16 shorties sit him atop the CBJ record books. Since the trade to Philly, Atkinson has played 73 games. He scored 23 goals and had 50 points in his first season as a Flyer. The entire 22-23 season was derailed by injury for Atkinson but seems to be ready to play in the upcoming 23-24 season.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkEqMpFlLes title=[/embed]

Jake Voracek was originally drafted by the Blue Jackets in 2007, going 7^th overall. After being drafted, Voracek would go back to Junior for one more season before making his NHL debut in 2008. His first stint with Columbus he played three full seasons, only missing 5 games over those three seasons. He scored 39 goals and had 134 points. And then June 23^rd happened, a day that almost all Columbus fans will remember. GM Scott Howson, in an attempt to try to keep Rick Nash in Columbus, traded Jake Voracek and two draft picks to the Flyers for Jeff Carter. That was arguably the worst trade in team history. Carter didn’t want to come to Columbus, and Rick Nash would be traded about a year later. Jake Voracek would then go on to play 727 games as a Flyer, scoring 177 goals and totaling 604 points.

Then he was traded back to Columbus. Atkinson fans were livid. How could they trade a franchise icon? People were left wondering why? Voracek made around $3 million more per year than Atkinson too, fans were puzzled. This was a pure hockey 1-for-1 trade. The Jackets needed a more versatile player who can be a play maker, which is Voracek. And the Flyers got a pure scorer. Jake Voracek embraced the move, came to Columbus, and had a great year. He would play in 79 games, score 6 goals, and have 56 assists. His 56 assists were three off the single season record of 59, set by Artemi Panarin in 2018-19. He would only play in 11 games in 2022-23 due to concussion issues. November 4^th, 2022, would be the last game he would play in Union Blue. He would suffer a concussion against the Avalanche while playing at the NHL Global Series in Finland. On March 2^nd of 2023. The Jackets traded Voracek and a pick to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goalie Jon Gilles, the Jake Voracek era in Columbus had come to an end for the second time.

I do believe this trade worked out well for both teams. Both players did miss the 2022-23 season and had good first seasons after being traded. Atkinson does seem ready to play though, as he has been playing in the Cap City Summer Elite League. It would be cool to see Atkinson come back and retire as a Jacket, which I think will happen. He still lives in Columbus and has his business here so there’s no real reason not to. He’s also only 34 years old, so that may take a bunch of years before that could happen.

This trade shook the fanbase when it happened, but they cooled off once they saw Voracek having a good year. It was a good hockey trade at the time.