As the Sharks look to add some depth to a league-worst roster, they’re interested in taking on Cam Atkinson from the Flyers for some depth scoring help, TSN’s Darren Dreger writes.
A trade could be blocked if Atkinson has San Jose on his 10-team no-trade list, though. That’s likely the case, as sources tell Dreger the veteran winger “isn’t keen on a move to the Sharks.”
Atkinson’s name is popping up frequently in both trade and buyout rumors this summer after a highly disappointing 2023-24 campaign.
The Flyers acquired the 5-foot-8 winger from the Blue Jackets in 2021, but injuries derailed his tenure in Philadelphia after one season. A herniated disc and left-tricep surgery sidelined him for all of last season, and he wasn’t the consistent top-six force he’s been in the past upon returning.
He stayed mostly healthy last season — a good sign for the 35-year-old’s long-term quality of life, but his production fell off a cliff. Dressing in 70 games, Atkinson scored 13 goals and 28 points, the first time in his career he’d had under half a point per game. He averaged 15:57 per contest, his lowest usage in 10 years.
While his offense was a disappointment after registering 23 goals and 50 points in a Flyers uniform two years ago, he had good defensive results this season, much like the rest of his surprisingly competitive Flyers squad.
Philadelphia controlled 53.7 percent of expected goals with Atkinson on the ice at even strength. He was on the ice for roughly 13 fewer expected goals against than in the 2021-22 season in which he played a similar amount of games.
Atkinson is still an NHL-caliber talent, but not one worth his $5.875M cap hit. As the Flyers look to take another step toward playoff contention next season, he’s a bit of an albatross.
In the seemingly unlikely event he doesn’t block a trade, it would likely take an asset or two to get Atkinson’s deal off the books entirely and over to California. A buyout would still save north of $3.5M in cap space for the Flyers this season but would result in a $1.75M cap penalty for 2025-26, per CapFriendly.
For Sharks general manager Mike Grier, taking on bad contracts outright is one of the few ways he can weaponize his rebuilding club’s cap space. He’s used up all three of his salary-retention spots in trading away Brent Burns, Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson, so brokering deals as a third party won’t be an option until Burns’ deal comes off the books in 2025.
In San Jose, Atkinson would be a slight upgrade on the declining veteran role played by pending UFA Mike Hoffman this year. Atkinson has a much more solid track record defensively than Hoffman, though, and could help the Sharks improve their league-worst goals-against figure.
There are also open spots in their top six that could result in Atkinson seeing time with prospective 2024 first overall pick Macklin Celebrini next season.
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