The Philadelphia Flyers continue to be haunted by mysterious injury issues, as Cam Atkinson is the latest to be ruled out for the rest of the season. The veteran forward will undergo neck surgery on Wednesday and is not expected back this season, according to Adam Kimelman of NHL.com.
Just a few weeks ago, it appeared as though Atkinson was well on his way to a return, joining the group for practice and competing in battle drills. Now it’s a lost season for the 33-year-old, who won’t play a single game in 2022-23. Unfortunately, that means both players involved in the 2021 trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets are out indefinitely, as Jakub Voracek’s career is in jeopardy because of head injuries.
The Flyers have been very vague on Atkinson’s specific issue, but Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet tweets that it is a “neck/upper arm” issue. Head coach John Tortorella told Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic today that Atkinson is confident this will not end his career.
After a decade in Columbus, Atkinson arrived in Philadelphia last year and continued his high offensive output, scoring 23 goals and 50 points in 73 games. That was good for second on the club in both categories and set him up to be a key contributor under this new coaching staff. Tortorella has plenty of experience with Atkinson from their time in Columbus and has repeatedly spoken out about how much the team was missing him as a leader on and off the ice.
Signed through the 2024-25 season at a $5.875MM cap hit, he’ll hopefully be able to contribute in both areas next year.
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