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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on Cam Atkinson's seven-year $41.125 million contract extension ($5.875M per) with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Todd Cordell
I think it's a fair contract.
It's very difficult to score goals in today's NHL and Cam Atkinson has shown the ability to do it consistently. From 2015-17, Atkinson scored 62 goals, which was good for 13th over that span and more than the likes of John Tavares, Mark Scheifele, Sean Monahan, and Mike Hoffman, among many others.
He's an excellent goal scorer and is one of the most important players on a Blue Jackets team with eyes on contending over the next couple years. They had to keep him around and I think the price to do so was reasonable. I don't love the term, but that's what it takes to keep quality players and it beats the alternative of walking away and trying to replace a player of that caliber.
James Tanner
This is a bad deal for the Blue Jackets.
Atkinson is 28, which means that for the majority of this deal he's going to be in his 30s. He scored 35 goals last year, but he also shot close to 15% and he's a career 10% guy.
He's a good player, but he's not a superstar. I think it's a lot for a guy whose never come close to point-per-game status and who hasn't been above 50% CF in his last three seasons.
This is TJ Oshie level overpayment, and while I like Atkinson, I do not like him at this term or dollar amount.
Peter Tessier
Atkinson has been on a steady rise in terms of point production since the 2012-13 season. He's been a huge asset for Columbus but he's now entering the years where production and value begin to get a bit questionable. This contract takes him to age 36 and it's a simple matter of where a team values production and the cost for that production versus eventual decline.
Atkinson matches well with a first line winger in terms of his underlying numbers but again will that last for 7 years. Probably not but at the value per year AAV of 5.875 it's not a monumental increase in salary which is good. Ideally, for the perfect deal, the AAV would stay the same but the term would be for 5 years and this would be a great deal.
As it stands right now, there's some risk for the team in those later years but this is a risk most GMs are willing to take.
Jared Crozier
I think the deal probably fits where it should. Perhaps a little long for the team's liking, but that could be said about a majority of contracts in the current NHL. Guys with 35 goal potential aren't all that common, and his numbers have been steadily improving year by year. Even if the 35 goal and 62 point season is the ceiling, the Blue Jackets will get their money's worth, at least early on.
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