In a good old-fashioned hockey trade, the Columbus Blue Jackets have traded Cam Atkinson to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jakub Voracek.

Atkinson for Voracek is one for one.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) July 24, 2021

This trade features two players that on the surface appear similar. Both players are right wingers. Both players will be 32 years of age when the season starts. Both players are owed just over $21 million on the remainder of their contracts.

Yet there are also some significant differences between the two players. Atkinson is 5-8, 176 lbs., while Voracek is 6-2, 214 lbs. As well, one player is more of a goal scorer, while the other is more of an assist provider. From the last three seasons:

Name	GP	G	A	PTS	PTS/G	PPP	SOG	+/-	PIM	TOI	PPTOI
CAM ATKINSON	180	68	61	129	0.72	31	601	-11	30	18:52	2:26
JAKUB VORACEK	200	41	124	165	0.83	43	446	-14	74	17:39	2:59

For more comparisons between the two players, see the Compare Players feature at Frozen Tools.

As many trades are these days, a major factor is the salary cap. Voracek's remaining money owed is over a shorter period (three years), which results in a higher cap hit ($8.25 million). With the Jackets now focused on a youth movement, they have the space to take on the $2.3 million in extra cap space. The Flyers are in a more challenging cap situation after trading for d-men Ryan Ellis and Rasmus Ristolainen while not being able to shed either Voracek or James van Riemsdyk in the expansion draft. As a result, they are trading away the more productive player.

Since these are essentially two interchangeable pieces, the fantasy implications appear minimal on the surface. Voracek could become more of a playmaker for Patrik Laine than the shooter Atkinson was, so this change is worth a shot at invigorating the mercurial Laine. Same goes for Max Domi (when he returns from injury). The Jackets' semi-rebuilding situation could hurt Voracek's numbers overall, as they do not currently possess the scoring depth of the Flyers.

Meanwhile, it remains to be seen where Atkinson would fit into the Flyers' top 9. He could easily benefit from being paired with either Sean Couturier or Claude Giroux. A 20-goal campaign would be a safe projection, but a return to 40 goals (2018-19) doesn't seem possible, as the Flyers don't possess a forward with Artemi Panarin-level ability. Overall, don't expect major changes either way to the scoring projections of these two over-30 wingers.

Players this helps, in order:

Laine

Domi

Atkinson

Giroux

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Players this hurts, in order:

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Voracek

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