On the day of the first round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, the Philadelphia Flyers used an opportunity to get a little bit of a clearer picture of what their roster is going to look like next season.
According to multiple reports, the Flyers are putting winger Cam Atkinson on waivers for the purpose of a contract buyout. Atkinson has one more year left on his contract that carries a $5.875-million AAV.
The buyout will, in the most general sense, save the Flyers some cap space this season in exchange for having a penalty against the cap for the 2025-26 season. Some short-term gain to double the length that Atkinson’s name is on the books. The dollars just smeared over to the following season.
Specifically, because we love numbers, the Flyers will have a cap hold of $2,358,334 for the 2024-25 season, and then $1,758,334 for the following year. This will save the Flyers approximately $3,516,666 (okay, that’s actually the full number) this upcoming season but then the 2025-26 penalty will be in place.
With this buyout, the Flyers now have roughly $4.3 million in cap space for next season, but this is also before Matvei Michkov signs his entry-level contract and the Flyers add anyone else to the roster. Luckily for them, even without Atkinson, right now, they have 12 NHL forwards signed to contracts. But, that does change if the Flyers decide to part ways with someone like Scott Laughton, and they would need to either think real hard about bringing in a player from training camp like new signee Oscar Eklind, or someone just good enough to stick around like Olle Lycksell.
Nevertheless, Atkinson wasn’t bringing much of anything on the ice and they have easy, internal replacements for this upcoming season.
The only significant issue with this is the cap hit being extended to two seasons instead of just biting the bullet for one more year and parting ways with the winger completely. But, it is understandable that you can’t have a player that is generally respected and deserves some respect, just sitting up in the press box for the entire season. That can bring just terrible vibes. Now, Atkinson can be free to go sign as an unrestricted free agent to any other team that will take him, as he rides out the rest of his career.
Flyers general manager Danny Briere said in the team’s press release how this was ultimately, a difficult decision.
“When it comes to someone with the accomplishments and character of Cam, this was an exceptionally tough decision to make,” Briere said.
Throughout his time with the Flyers, Cam has displayed an incredible work ethic and level of professionalism that is a true credit to him as a player and person. I’ve witnessed firsthand the amount of effort, dedication, and perseverance he went through during an incredibly tough rehabilitation process in order to come back and be a leader for our team on and off the ice.
I would like to thank Cam for all he has put into raising the standard of our team. Cam will always have a place in the Flyers organization, and we wish all the success for him and his family in the future.”
Through two seasons in Philadelphia, Atkinson scored 36 goals and 78 points in 143 games.
