The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Cam Atkinson to a one-year deal worth $900,000. Just last week, the Philadelphia Flyers bought out the last year of Atkinson’s seven-year, $41.125 million contract he signed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Atkinson signed his extension with the Blue Jackets on Nov. 17, 2017, with an annual average cap hit of $5.875 million. In 2021, the Blue Jackets sent their 2008 sixth-round pick to the Flyers in exchange for Jakub Voracek.
One concern Lightning fans may have is with his injury history. Atkinson did not play in the 2022-23 season due to a herniated disk in his neck, which forced him out of action for a while. Coming back in the 2023-24 season, Atkinson recorded his lowest-point total in a single season, playing a minimum of 50 games, with 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points.
The 35-year-old has played 770 games in the NHL between the Blue Jackets and Flyers, tallying 249 goals and 231 assists for 480 points. Many Lightning fans will remember him fondly as he was part of the Blue Jackets team who swept a dominant Lightning team in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs to pull off the biggest upset. Atkinson will slot into a middle-six role on the Lightning roster. Listed at 5-foot-8, Atkinson is at his best playing with speed and smarts to make up for his lack of height. He will be a great role player as well as a penalty killer. Much like Luke Glendening, Atkinson is a threat on the penalty kill by creating chances when the team is shorthanded but doing so smartly. Atkinson is also a pest when it comes to the forecheck. He is great on the forecheck, constantly keeping an active stick and using his speed to create turnovers all over the ice.
I do not think the Lightning are done there. The Lightning still have a projected cap space of $5.750 million, but J.J. Moser, who was given a Qualifying Offer, still has nothing done yet. Depending on what that contract looks like, I would expect one or two more depth players to be added over the next week.
