There are no more games to play for the Philadelphia Flyers this season. All 82 have come and gone and they missed the playoffs by a handful of points in heartbreaking fashion. And for Cam Atkinson, it means no more opportunities to try and prove that he deserves to be on the team next season.
The 34-year-old winger has seen his role on the team diminish into being a depth player and as of right now, Atkinson isn’t sure what his future is going to look like.
“That’s a good question. I have one more year left on my contract and I know the player I am and I’ll never lose sight in how I am and what has made me the player I am today and what has gotten me to this level. I still feel like I have a lot of juice left in the tank for the right situation,” Atkinson said during exit interviews on Wednesday.
“I mean, I think that question is above my pay grade. I can control what I can control.”
Atkinson had a fairly successful start to his season, but that quickly turned into any points he produced being an extreme rarity. As his role on the team went from middle-six scoring winger to being on the fourth line or as a healthy scratch, everything dried up. The last game where Atkinson earned any points was January 23 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, almost three months ago.
Now, whether or not he remains on the team, like he said, is a question that needs to be answered by the front office and all he can do is train hard to try and prove that he can remain in Philadelphia during the last year of his current contract.
Still, no matter what, this change in opportunity was a bit jarring.
“All 13 years, I’ve been a go-to guy. And I contributed offensively and put in situations to have success,” Atkinson said. “So, when you go from that to kind of in and out of the lineup, and when I’m in the lineup on the fourth line, with limited minutes, there’s only so much you can do. So, I think when I was out there, I tried my hardest to just make some sort of impact. I’ve never experienced that, so going to playing one to three shifts a period — it’s hard. But I thought being a good teammate and controlling what I can control, I’ll never go down that negative road.
“I want all my teammates to succeed and do well and we all want to be difference makers. So, when your role does change, you have to find ways to contribute any way you can. Unfortunately, it wasn’t really on the scoresheet, but I thought I handled it pretty well.”
Atkinson did finish the year with fairly solid underlying numbers — staying close to even at 5-on-5 in terms of shot attempts and expected goal share — but clearly he is not built, and never was built, to be that kind of player.
Now, Flyers head coach John Tortorella has to potentially have a difficult conversation with a player he has coached the most in the entire NHL. But, that professional relationship shouldn’t be fractured, according to Atkinson.
“Torts and I definitely have a unique relationship,” he said. “I think all the conversations we’ve had this year together; I never want one or two things to hinder our relationship and those are the conversations we’ve had. He was very honest at the beginning of the season, and so was management, just that we’re going younger, and those guys are getting more of an opportunity. So, I get it. Torts and I, we’re just going to agree to disagree on a lot of things, but it is what it is at this point.”
With wingers coming up through the minors and development, and Atkinson’s role depleting, the most logical conclusion might be a contract buyout and the veteran can go and find a new home to finish out his NHL career.
If the Flyers do buyout the last year of his contract, his $5.875-million cap hit will be lowered to a $2.35-million penalty for the 2024-25 season, and an additional cap cost of $1.75 million for the 2025-26 season. For a rebuilding team and the cap increasing every summer, that feels like peanuts to give a younger player an actual job on the NHL roster.
For Atkinson, he will just face a summer where things could change any day and continue to work to keep his role in this league.
“It doesn’t matter what anyone says. I think, for me, what has made me successful and how can I get back to that, to be one of those go-to guys again. And that’s all I’m going to focus on. I don’t care what anyone says, I just got to believe in myself like I always have and prove everyone wrong, like I’ve always have my whole life. And just go from there and have a great summer as far as working out and training hard. I know this is a very important summer for me, getting back to the player I want to be and can be.”
