On July 24, 2021, the Blue Jackets and Flyers pulled off a move that caught just about everybody off guard: Cam Atkinson went to Philadelphia, and Jake Voráček came back to Columbus.
For Blue Jackets fans, that was not a small-name swap. Atkinson had become one of the defining players in franchise history, a sixth-round pick out of Connecticut who spent 10 seasons in Columbus and appeared in 627 games.
By the time his first run with the club ended after the 2020-21 season, he had 213 goals, 189 assists and 402 points. Those 213 goals rank second in Blue Jackets history behind Rick Nash, while his 189 assists sit sixth and his 402 points are fourth.
He also piled up 42 power-play goals and 16 short-handed goals, and those 16 shorties put him at the top of the team record book.
Voráček’s return carried its own weight. Columbus originally drafted him seventh overall in 2007, and after one more junior season he made his NHL debut in 2008.
In his first stint with the Blue Jackets, he played three full seasons and missed only five games. He scored 39 goals and totaled 134 points before the franchise sent him to Philadelphia on June 23 in the infamous deal that brought Jeff Carter back the other way.
That trade remains one of the most painful in team history, especially since Carter did not want to come to Columbus and Rick Nash was dealt about a year later. Voráček then went on to play 727 games for the Flyers, scoring 177 goals and finishing with 604 points.
So when Columbus brought Voráček back, the reaction from Atkinson supporters was immediate and fierce. The move left plenty of people asking why the Blue Jackets would move a franchise icon, especially with Voráček making about $3 million more per year than Atkinson. The whole thing had fans looking at Jarmo Kekäläinen with serious skepticism.
From a hockey standpoint, though, the deal was straightforward. Columbus wanted a more versatile playmaker, and Voráček fit that role.
Philadelphia got the pure scorer. Voráček settled in quickly and had a strong first season back in Columbus, playing 79 games with six goals and 56 assists.
That assist total was only three shy of the single-season franchise record of 59, set by Artemi Panarin in 2018-19.
The second Columbus stint did not last long. Voráček played only 11 games in 2022-23 because of concussion issues, and his last game in Union Blue came on November 4, 2022, when he sustained a concussion against the Avalanche during the NHL Global Series in Finland. On March 2, 2023, the Blue Jackets sent Voráček and a pick to the Arizona Coyotes for goalie Jon Gilles, ending the Jake Voráček era in Columbus for the second time.
Voráček announced his retirement from professional hockey in April 2024. He finished with 806 points in 1,058 career games.
Atkinson’s story eventually circled back home, too. After going unsigned during the 2025 offseason, the Blue Jackets announced that he would sign a one-day contract and retire as a member of the team on October 16. He finished with 489 points in 809 career games, and 402 of those came in a Blue Jackets sweater.
In the end, this was the kind of trade that rattled the fan base at first and made more sense once Voráček started producing. It was a good hockey trade then, and it looks that way now.
In Other News...
Blue Jackets Just Made Their Decision On Cole Sillinger
Cole Sillingers next chapter in Columbus is settled, giving the Blue Jackets another piece of their forward group locked in for the long haul. The restricted free agent has agreed to a three-year contract after spending his entire NHL career with the club since being taken 12th overall in 2021, a move that keeps one of the organizations younger regulars in place as the roster continues to take shape.
For Columbus, the decision also clarifies where Sillinger fits in the lineup. He is expected to remain in a third-line role, giving the Blue Jackets a dependable middle-six option they can continue to develop without having to revisit his status again anytime soon. The deal carries him through the 2028-29 season, so the next question is less about whether he stays and more about how much his game can grow in the role the team has mapped out for him. [Read more 🡒]
Don Waddell Just Changed The Blue Jackets' Biggest Contract Question
The Blue Jackets have quietly taken a big chunk of business off the board by locking up Jet Greaves and Cole Sillinger on separate three-year deals, and the timing matters as much as the contracts themselves. For a team trying to keep its books clean, Don Waddell has managed to avoid the kind of rushed, cap-clogging move that can haunt a roster later, and these two signings give Columbus a much clearer path as it starts sorting out its next wave of core players.
Adam Fantilli is the name that now hangs over the rest of the summer, and the structure of these deals suggests the Blue Jackets are preserving room for a major extension without boxing themselves in. Greaves contract took some late work to get across the finish line, which only adds to the sense that Columbus was willing to be patient rather than force the issue, and that approach could end up defining how the front office handles its most important negotiation next. [Read more 🡒]