Cam Atkinson's goal-scoring output has increased every season since his NHL debut in 2011.
Two years ago, the Blue Jackets made their best deadline deal of the John Davidson/Jarmo Kekalainen era.
Surprise! It wasn’t a trade. Please, keep reading.
We’ll never know how close it actually was to fruition (or if it was at all), but there was an endless stream of speculation surrounding Cam Atkinson’s status with the organization as March 2, 2015 approached. Some national reporters deemed a trade inevitable, that the Blue Jackets were prepared to make a “hockey deal” and cash in on another productive season from their 25-year-old sniper.
In some fashion, it made sense: would Atkinson’s value ever be higher? Did he fit into their long-term plans? Todd Richards was behind the Columbus bench at the time, and he and Atkinson went through periods of time when they didn’t see eye-to-eye; Atkinson was inconsistent, sure, but occasional decreases in his ice time seemed odd considering his production.
But would the Blue Jackets really trade this guy? All he’s done is improve his offensive output virtually every season since breaking into the NHL. And he was only 25 with multiple years of team control on the table.
As it turns out, trading him wasn’t the end result. And of course, while Captain Hindsight always has the clearest view of the ocean, it’s reasonable to think the Blue Jackets now look back on that day and feel pretty good about their decision to re-sign Atkinson, a newly-minted NHL All-Star and one of their top players.
They committed a three-year, $10.5 million extension to Atkinson almost two years to the day of this year’s trade deadline. It was a statement to both the player and to the room that, despite some struggles from time to time, Atkinson was going to be part of the group moving forward.
Ironically, Atkinson was a healthy scratch in Richards’ final game as head coach, an ugly 4-0 loss to the Islanders on Oct. 20, 2015.
When John Tortorella took over, one of Atkinson’s first phone calls was to his friend (and Tortorella loyalist) Martin St. Louis, whose career took off under Torts in Tampa.
The gist of that conversation was “if you work your butt off, (Tortorella) will love you.” Atkinson responded to the change in direction behind the bench, and he and Tortorella have forged an honest but productive relationship in their year-plus together.
Atkinson’s production, which has not surprisingly surged again this season, has him in line for a significant pay raise as early as this July 1. He’s eligible for unrestricted free agency after the 2017-18 season, and it’s likely the Blue Jackets will try to get him locked up well in advance.
| season | gp | g | a | pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 27 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| 2012-13* | 35 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
| 2013-14 | 79 | 21 | 19 | 40 |
| 2014-15 | 78 | 22 | 18 | 40 |
| 2015-16 | 81 | 27 | 26 | 53 |
| 2016-17** | 68 | 32 | 27 | 59 |
*Lockout-shortened season of 48 games.
**Through games played Mar. 13, 2017.
Earlier this season, Tortorella said one of Atkinson’s biggest challenges is constantly being on top of his game.
“It can get good to him sometimes,” Tortorella said. “We have to manage that.”
What does that mean, “it can get good to him?” Let's fire up the Torts Translator...
Tortorella knows Atkinson is a confident player, and when things are going well, he has a tendency to ride the wave and not hone in on the details of the game, specifically defensively and “away from the puck,” as coaches like to say.
Tortorella has done a tremendous job managing the Blue Jackets’ roster throughout this season, but in particular, his relationship with Atkinson is a vital one. In order to mitigate his concerns about over-confidence, Tortorella has tasked Atkinson with prime assignments on the defensive end. This season, we’ve become accustomed to seeing Atkinson killing penalties and defending leads late in regulation. He is one of Tortorella’s top options (and often his first choice) in 3-on-3 overtime and is usually the lead-off hitter in the shootout.
There’s a mutual trust between the two, and it’s paid off richly for both Atkinson and Tortorella in what has become a historic season for the Blue Jackets.
