Flyers trade Jakub Voracek to Columbus for Cam Atkinson

The Philadelphia Flyers aren’t done trading. Less than 24 hours after saying he didn’t think he’d make another trade this weekend, Chuck Fletcher acquired Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jakub Voracek is headed to Columbus.

The trade is one for one.

The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired forward Cam Atkinson from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Jakub Voracek, according to President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Chuck Fletcher.

Atkinson, 32 (6/5/1989), has appeared in 627 games over 10 NHL seasons, all with the Blue Jackets. He has 213 goals and 189 assists for 402 points over his career, including a 41-goal season in the last full NHL campaign of 2018-19. During the 2020-21 season, Atkinson scored 15 goals and added 19 assists for 34 points in 59 games and was tied for second in the NHL with four shorthanded goals.

In his career-best 2018-19 campaign, Atkinson tied for sixth in the NHL with his 41 goals, while his 295 shots on goal ranked eighth. He is a two-time NHL All-Star (2017, 2019) and has scored at least 20 goals in each of six NHL seasons in which he’s appeared in 65 or more games.

A 5-8, 175-lb native of Riverside, Connecticut, Atkinson was selected by Columbus in the sixth round (157th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 7, 2011 following a three-year career at Boston College, where he won a national championship in 2010 and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist in 2011.

Voracek was acquired by the Flyers from Columbus on June 23, 2011.has appeared in 727 games for the Flyers over the last 10 seasons, posting 177 goals and 427 assists for 604 points during that time. He also added 27 points (9g-18a) in 45 Stanley Cup Playoff games with the Flyers. Voracek’s 427 assists rank fifth in Flyers history, as do his 162 power-play assists. He represented the Flyers at the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and was a first-team NHL All-Star following that season, when he recorded a career-best 81 points (22G, 59A). Voracek won several Flyers team awards during his tenure, most notably the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the Flyers most valuable player on two occasions in 2013 & 2015.

It was known that the Flyers were shopping Jakub Voracek, but Cam Atkinson is a new name for the Flyers.

Atkinson, 32, has a $5.875 cap hit for the next four seasons. The winger is coming off of two down seasons after a career-high 41 goals and 69 points in the 2018-19 season. Since then, he had 60 points (27 goals, 33 assists) in 100 games.

Voracek, who turns 32 in August, has an $8.25 million cap hit for the next three seasons. The Flyers are gaining $2.35 million in cap space but will have Atkinson for one year after Voracek’s contract expires.

Voracek has been pretty consistent for the Flyers but he’s a playmaker first and scorer second. Atkinson is a scoring winger that can also kill penalties, which is something that Voracek doesn’t do. He should slot into the Flyers’ middle six.

We’ll have to wait and see what else Fletcher may have in store this weekend.

More to come…