After 10 seasons In Philadelphia, Jakub Voracek happy to return to Columbus Blue Jackets
Brian Hedger
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 a 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 if the Seattle Kraken didn’t select him, which they didn’t.
“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. I didn’t expect that at all and I think it was a last-second thing, to be honest. I think there were some other things at play and then, I heard, all of a sudden Columbus hopped in and it was kind of surprising.”
That’s putting it mildly.
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 for the duration of their deals.
Atkinson had attended the Blue Jackets’ draft party at Nationwide Arena the night before, welcoming three new first-round picks into the fold, and his oldest son, Declan, turned 3 on the day of the trade. His party was held amid a sea of Blue Jackets stuff.
Voracek, meanwhile, found out from his mom.
"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.”
Everything old is new again
He’s actually 32 games shy of that “silver stick” milestone, logging 968 games over 13 NHL seasons, but you get the point. Since playing the first three years of his career in Columbus, ages 19 to 21, Voracek has seen and done a lot.
Things have certainly 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.
“A decade is a decade,” Voracek said. “It’s a little bit different than it used to be. A lot of things happened in 10 years. I was a young kid (before), 19 or 20 years old, just playing hockey, playing Call of Duty and going out for dinners. You don’t worry about anything.
"Now, I have more responsibilities with the team and off the ice, as well, so it’s way different. But that’s how you evolve as a human, right? Things like that happening. I’m excited the way my life is right now. I’m pumped to be back.”
He has changed on the ice, too. More seasoned than before, in a good way.
Thanks to knowledge gained from a decade as one of the league’s top scorers, Voracek’s offensive insights have already paid off. The Blue Jackets went 7 of 25 (28%) on power plays in the preseason, including a blistering 46.2 percent (6 of 13) in Voracek’s four games.
It’s exactly what general manager Jarmo Kekalainen wanted from the trade.
“Whenever he’s got the puck on his stick, you’ve just got to try and find a way to get open and he’ll find you,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, who mans the point on the Jackets’ top power play unit. “(Having) a guy with that type of creativity on our power play, it’s huge. It opens up a lot of options for us.”
That opinion is shared by the Jackets’ coaching staff.
“For me as a coach, (Voracek) is a great asset,” said assistant coach Pascal Vincent, who is coordinating the Jackets’ power play in his first season in Columbus. “He’s vocal. He knows what he wants and he knows what works. So, we work together.”
Voracek, a left-handed shooter, plays on his “off” side at right wing. It allows him to open his body up to see more passing lanes and set up for one-timers. He was acquired primarily because the Blue Jackets needed somebody to feed passes across to star left wing Patrik Laine, whose booming, right-handed one-timer was muted last season following his own trade to Columbus.
Those two are a tandem now, at least to start, but Voracek also has good passing options during power plays to Zach Werenski up top, Boone Jenner in front of the net and Oliver Bjorkstrand in the slot.
“Choose what you’re going to cover,” Vincent said. “Jake has a real good ability to read plays quick, because he’s a student of the game, and he’s a good passer. He’s also a good shooter, but he’s a great passer. He sees those options, the seam pass, the middle, the goal line. It goes pretty quick and he sees them pretty quick.”
Voracek embraces a new role
Voracek doesn’t sugarcoat his last couple of seasons in Philadelphia. He wasn’t happy with Vigneault. The feeling was mutual from the Flyers’ coach, and both sides knew it was time for a change.
Vigneault stayed put. Voracek was traded.
“I was put in a spot in the last couple years that I didn’t like very much,” Voracek said. “Not by minutes-wise or playing-wise. … It just wasn’t a good match and I kind of, personally, didn’t like how some things were handled with me.”
Vigneault called Voracek out publicly on multiple occasions, including a scathing challenge to start last season. Coming off the Flyers’ two-round exit from the 2020 playoffs inside the Toronto quarantine “bubble,” the coach pointed out the team’s history of playoff failures during Voracek’s decade in Philly.
“I talked to Jake about this,” Vigneault told reporters. “I challenged him about this season. There’s a man who’s been in the league for a long time. Basically, he’s won two playoff rounds.”
Vigneault also complained about Voracek’s readiness to start seasons, lamenting what he felt was substandard physical conditioning during the offseason. None of it sat well with Voracek, who talked with the Flyers’ GM about it following the team’s flop last season.
“Me and Chuck Fletcher agreed that it would be the best time to move on, in some kind of way, if it was going to make sense for us and for the Flyers,” Voracek said. “I’m glad that Columbus hopped in and grabbed me.”
The Blue Jackets are one of the youngest teams in the NHL again and need established veterans to be strong leaders. Voracek is eager to help fill that void, which was created after trades removed Atkinson, former captain Nick Foligno and defenseman David Savard.
“As an older guy on the team, it’s an opportunity for me,” he said. “I’m put in a spot that I can be successful, and I’m going to be in a spot to help everybody around me, which I’ve always wanted. I had it in Philly, too, but I wasn’t leaned on by the coaching staff as much, which is exciting for me this time.”
Call it a reset, for Voracek and the Blue Jackets. Just don’t call it a “rebuild” around the new/old playmaker.
“I always see the positive,” Voracek said. “Everybody says it’s a rebuild. Well, if it’s a rebuild, why would Jarmo trade for an $8.25 million player that is 32 years old, you know? I kind of sense out of that, that they want me to be a guy to guide the guys through the next couple years. And I take it as a huge opportunity.”
bhedger@dispatch.com
@BrianHedger