After playing 13 NHL seasons, Cam Atkinson will retire as a Blue Jacket on a one-day contract.
There were cheers, high-fives and many hugs for Cam Atkinson when the Blue Jackets selected him in the sixth round, 157th overall, in the 2008 NHL Draft.
Atkinson, an undersized scoring winger from Avon Old Farms prep school in Connecticut, was thrilled to become an NHL prospect as he eyed a collegiate career at Boston College, but his four brothers quickly posed a question he couldn’t answer: “Where the hell is Columbus, Ohio?”
Atkinson quickly learned the answer to that question, and he’s become one of the city’s biggest advocates after making Columbus his home for 13 years. Atkinson, 36, became an NHL star while playing 10 seasons for the Blue Jackets, and now he’ll retire with his first of three NHL teams. After playing 13 years professionally, the undersized forward (5 feet 8, 178 pounds) from Riverside, Connecticut will get a fitting end to his career in the same place it began Oct. 7, 2011, at Nationwide Arena.
Atkinson will sign a one-day contract and retire as a Blue Jacket Oct. 16, when he’ll be honored along with his family on the ice before the Blue Jackets host the Colorado Avalanche.
“I’m done playing,” Atkinson said. “This summer was the first one I didn’t have the desire to even put on my equipment. My kids have been in three different schools in the past three years, and signing another one-year deal doesn’t move the needle for me.”
Atkinson’s career ends with 253 goals, 236 assists and 489 points over 809 games, including 213-189-402 in 627 games for the Blue Jackets over 10 seasons.
Despite his undersized build, Atkinson’s scoring acumen still has him ranked at or near the top of multiple all-time franchise rankings, including first in short-handed goals (16), first in hat tricks (six), second in points (402), second in goals (213), second in game-winning goals (42), second in shots (1,883), third in games played (627), third in power-play goals (42), fifth in assists (189) and ninth in plus/minus (+17).
He is also tied with Rick Nash for first in most goals (41) during a single season (2018-19), and an affable personality still endears him to many fans.
“I’m ready for the next chapter, whatever that may be,” Atkinson said. “I feel very thankful and fortunate just to get the opportunity to start my career here. It’s no secret. My wife, Natalie, and I … we fell in love with living here and everything the city has to offer outside of hockey and our friends that we still have here.”
Cam Atkinson hopes to work with Columbus Blue Jackets at some point
Atkinson would like to work for the Blue Jackets in some capacity in the future, but that’s something that will wait until an opportunity arises. Meanwhile, he continues to improve The Battery Hockey Academy, a local training facility he co-founded in August 2018 while still playing for the Blue Jackets.
Natalie Atkinson is also involved with the Women’s Wellness Center at Riverside Hospital, where she gave birth to the couple’s three children.
“We’re really starting to sink our teeth into everything the city has to offer, and, honestly, we’re just getting started,” Atkinson said. “This is really the first time in my life, living here, that I’m not playing hockey. I’m trying to transition and figure out what I really want to do, and that’s really being a part of the Blue Jackets organization in some capacity and growing the game throughout central Ohio with The Battery and giving these kids the best opportunity to make it to the next level.”
Getting started on those goals was more important than signing another one-year contract for a depth spot or auditioning for a deal via professional tryout offer. Atkinson played just 39 games last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a Stanley Cup contender, after playing the previous two years with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Atkinson was part of a surprising trade July 24, 2021, that sent him to the Flyers for Jake Voracek, who returned to his NHL roots in the swap. Neck surgery in 2022 forced Atkinson to miss the entire 2022-23 season, but he returned to play 70 games in 2023-24 in the final year of his contract.
That led to signing a one-year contract July 2, 2024, with Tampa.
During those stops, Atkinson stayed connected to Columbus despite a stinging exit.
The night before he was traded, he attended a watch party at Nationwide Arena to welcome the addition of three first-round picks: Kent Johnson (fifth overall), Cole Sillinger (12th overall) and Corson Ceulemans (25th overall).
The next day, his oldest son, Declan, had a birthday party that was supposed to include an appearance by the Blue Jackets’ mascot, Stinger. It was shocking to Atkinson and his family, but any hard feelings have subsided.
The Atkinsons’ love for Columbus never dropped, and now they’re back on a full-time basis. Officially ending his playing career by wearing the Blue Jackets’ crest is a fitting segue for a player whose jersey still populates crowds at Nationwide Arena.
“That was the goal all along, that whenever I was done playing, we were going to be here full time,” Atkinson said. “At the end of the day, I’m just excited about that.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social