CAM ATKINSON - Right Winger - 30 - $5.875MM Cap Hit - UFA in 2025-2026
LAST UPDATED 7/28/19
While Cam Atkinson has had some battles with inconsistency over the past three seasons, it seems that the 46 point season sandwiched between two 60+ point seasons was an aberration rather than a troubling sign of things to come. Cam Atkinson is one of the faster players in the NHL, and uses his blazing speed to create offensive opportunities. He can burn past bigger, more lumbering defensemen to create breakaways and odd-man rushes, and his ability to get alone with the goaltender is likely why he's been able to sustain normally unsustainable shooting percentages above 10% throughout his career. Defensively, Atkinson's game is also based on his speed. He's a smart player, but more importantly, he overcomes being undersized by being a relentless forechecker/backchecker and being an impact player on the penalty kill, as he's able to use his speed to close down on uncovered forwards quickly or use his burst to interrupt passing lanes with ease. He's a shorthanded threat and his ability to sustain a strong penalty kill along with his production easily makes him worth his near-$6MM cap hit. Term, though, is an issue, as Atkinson is now on the wrong side of thirty. If his game is so completely based on speed, once he loses a step with age will Atkinson have a massive regression in his on-ice value? I do think so, as once he loses the speed advantage he has over other players he'll just be an aging, marginally skilled, average-skating expensive winger. But that's not him right now. Right now Atkinson is a legitimate first line burner with some two-way ability.
While Cam Atkinson has had some battles with inconsistency over the past three seasons, it seems that the 46 point season sandwiched between two 60+ point seasons was an aberration rather than a troubling sign of things to come. Cam Atkinson is one of the faster players in the NHL, and uses his blazing speed to create offensive opportunities. He can burn past bigger, more lumbering defensemen to create breakaways and odd-man rushes, and his ability to get alone with the goaltender is likely why he's been able to sustain normally unsustainable shooting percentages above 10% throughout his career. Defensively, Atkinson's game is also based on his speed. He's a smart player, but more importantly, he overcomes being undersized by being a relentless forechecker/backchecker and being an impact player on the penalty kill, as he's able to use his speed to close down on uncovered forwards quickly or use his burst to interrupt passing lanes with ease. He's a shorthanded threat and his ability to sustain a strong penalty kill along with his production easily makes him worth his near-$6MM cap hit. Term, though, is an issue, as Atkinson is now on the wrong side of thirty. If his game is so completely based on speed, once he loses a step with age will Atkinson have a massive regression in his on-ice value? I do think so, as once he loses the speed advantage he has over other players he'll just be an aging, marginally skilled, average-skating expensive winger. But that's not him right now. Right now Atkinson is a legitimate first line burner with some two-way ability.
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