HAPPY RETURN
After 10 seasons in Philly, Voracek excited to be with Blue Jackets again
It was time to leave Philadelphia.
After spending a decade in the “City of Brotherly Love,” Jakub Voracek wasn’t feeling much affection the past couple of seasons.
He and Philadelphia Flyers coach Alain Vigneault were at odds, his contract had become an problem and Voracek made bigger headlines last season for calling a reporter a “weasel” than for contributing nine goals, 34 assists and 43 points in 56 games for a team that missed the playoffs.
Voracek, 32, was also unprotected in the NHL’S July expansion draft and knew from talking with Flyers general manager Chuck Fletcher that a trade was possible.
“I wasn’t shocked by the trade,” said Voracek, who was dealt to the Blue Jackets for Cam Atkinson on July 24 in a deal that returned him to his first NHL franchise. “I was shocked that I went back to Columbus.”
Voracek and Atkinson had each spent 10 seasons with the Flyers and Blue Jackets, respectively. They had become franchise fixtures and signed to long-term contracts they felt would keep them in those cities.
"I knew it was going to be a great opportunity for me," said Voracek, who the Blue Jackets drafted seventh overall in 2007 and traded to the Flyers in 2011 for Jeff Carter, "to not prove what kind of player I am — because after 1,000 games I think everybody knows what kind of player I am — but get that new chance, new jump, new juice into you that obviously I wasn’t getting in Philadelphia.”
Things have changed since the last time he was a Blue Jacket. The carefree days of playing video games and going out with teammates on a whim during homestands are largely over. He’s a father now, three times over, and enjoys those responsibilities.