Cam Atkinson signs one-day contract with Blue Jackets, officially retires

Cam Atkinson officially retired Thursday, signing a one-day contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets so he can hang up his skates as a member of the team he spent a decade representing.

“It was so special to be a Blue Jacket and to play in front of the 5th Line,” an emotional Atkinson said at his retirement press conference.

Atkinson ranks second on the Blue Jackets’ all-time leaderboard in points, with 402, and goals, with 213. He is also the franchise’s leader in shorthanded goals and hat tricks.

Drafted 157th overall out of Boston College by Columbus in 2008, the Riverside, Conn., native debuted for the Blue Jackets in the 2011-12 season and would go on to spend 10 productive seasons in central Ohio. He was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of the 2021-22 season, where he would play two of the next three seasons, as he was forced to miss the entire 2022-23 season with injury. Atkinson played 39 games for the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.

The diminutive right winger was an All-Star for Columbus in the 2016-17 and 2018-19 seasons, and may be best remembered by fans for being part of the 2016-17 Blue Jackets team that ripped off a 16-game winning streak. Atkinson also played a key role in Columbus’ sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.

Along with Rick Nash, Nick Foligno, Zach Werenski, among others, Atkinson will be remembered as the one the best players to spend the majority of his career with the relatively young Blue Jackets franchise.

Internationally, Atkinson won bronze with the United States at the 2018 IIHF World Championships. Atkinson also won an NCAA championship with Boston College in the 2009-10 season.

Atkinson finishes his NHL career with 253 goals and 236 assists for 489 points in 809 career games.