The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Cam Atkinson to a seven-year deal worth $40.25 million dollars, as reported by The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline. The deal comes with an AAV of $5.750 million dollars per year. Atkinson is currently in his last year of a three-year deal making $3.50 million dollars. He was set to become a UFA at seasons end.
EXCLUSIVE: The Athletic: #CBJ, Cam Atkinson agree to terms on 7-year contract extension https://t.co/sk07PxPIaU pic.twitter.com/1MKU0ataQm
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) November 17, 2017
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Cam Atkinson To Seven-Year Extention
Atkinson, 28, is off to slow start for the Blue Jackets this season. He currently sits with just six points in 15 games played. Atkinson’s slow start is possibly one of the reasons why the Blue Jackets offence hasn’t been as prolific as a year ago.
Although Cam Atkinson is off to a quiet start, that’s bound to change sooner rather than later. The Riverside, Connecticut native has proven to be a very dangerous winger for the Columbus Blue Jackets over the last few years. The forward has already had three 20+ goal seasons, including a career-best 35 goal season last year.
He led all Blue Jackets in scoring last year, with 62 points, a career-high for him once again. Atkinson’s 35 goals also led the Blue Jackets. In the 2015-16 season, Atkinson put up 53 points in 81 games played. He was tied for the team lead in scoring with Brandon Saad. He was able to score 53 points in a year where Columbus didn’t have a memorable season per say. They finished with 76 points and with a record of 34-40-8. Atkinson in the 2014-15 season scored 40 points, good for fourth in team scoring with 22 goals. He has proven to be a legitimate scoring threat at the NHL level.
Breaking Down Cam Atkinson’s Extension
As noted, Atkinson may be off to a slow start but it’s nothing Blue Jackets fans are panicking about necessarily. The winger has shown he has magnificent scoring skills and they’re going to come out soon. Cam Atkinson’s new contract is a great deal for the Columbus Blue Jackets all around. They were able to lock up a consistent goal scoring threat at a very digestible cap hit. Even after his remarkable season last year, Atkinson only got a raise of $2.25 million dollars from his current salary. For a player that can put the puck in the back of the net in a consistent fashion, that’s not something to frown upon.
Atkinson is in the midst of his prime right now and shows no sign of slowing down after having a career year last season. When his new deal expires he will be 37 years old. The deal most probably will make Atkinson a Blue Jacket for the rest of his career.
The contract he signed is a low risk and high reward for the Blue Jackets. The team already knew what Atkinson could bring to the table heading into this season. Clearly, they have confidence he can continue this level of play or even improve upon it.
