Five Great Contracts for the Columbus Blue Jackets

1. Cam Atkinson

Cam Atkinson was Columbus’s best kept secret prior to this season, he consistently put up a large amount of points and goals but never received much recognition from the rest of the league. There were many times where it seemed as if he’d even be traded, specifically to the Boston Bruins closer to home for him.

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Luckily Jarmo Kekalainen decided to keep Scott Howson‘s former 6th round pick and sign him to one of the most team friendly deals in the NHL. Atkinson is signed through the 2024-2025 season, in a deal that will more than likely end his NHL career with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Not only is the term great, he’s only holding a cap hit of $5.875M per season.

While that may seem like a lot, it’s worth mentioning that Atkinson is currently the hottest player in the NHL and besides one season of regression last year, he’s improved in every season he’s been in the NHL. He could realistically hit 50 goals this season at his current pace, however it’s more likely that he ends up around  the 40-45 goal range.

He’s currently over a point per game and despite the lack of hardware, specifically the Maurice Richard Trophy, he could very well go down as the greatest Blue Jacket of all time over Rick Nash. While the future remains to be seen, he’s proving that right now he’s an elite player in the NHL.

Despite that production, he’s still not getting much recognition from the rest of the media around the league. That’ll certainly change by the end of his contract though.