Lightning address forward depth, sign Cam Atkinson to 1-year deal

BRANDON — The Lightning continued to shore up their forward group Tuesday, signing veteran Cam Atkinson to a one-year, $900,000 contract.

Atkinson, 35, had 13 goals and 38 points in 70 games for the Flyers this past season but saw his role diminish down the stretch. Last week, Philadelphia bought out the remaining year of the seven-year, $41.125 million deal (a $5.875 million cap hit) he originally signed with Columbus in 2017.

Atkinson’s best seasons came during his 10 years with the Blue Jackets. He had career highs of 41 goals and 69 points in 80 games for the Blue Jackets in 2018-19. They went on to sweep the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Lightning in the first round of the playoffs.

Atkinson was a 23-goal, 50-point scorer as recently as 2021-22, his first season in Philadelphia. But he missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a herniated disc and left bicep surgery.

If he can rebound, Atkinson can be a value signing for a Lightning team looking to improve its forward depth after signing top free-agent Jake Guentzel and bottom-six forward Zemgus Girgensons on Monday.

The Lightning now have 12 forwards signed under NHL contracts and 19 players overall. They still have $5.75 million remaining under the $88 million cap, but their available number is closer to $4 million after earmarking for restricted free-agent defenseman J.J. Moser and potentially carrying non-roster defenseman Emil Lilleberg next season.

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