Merzlikins burst into the NHL with a stellar rookie season back in 2019-20. Since that season, his numbers have progressively gotten worse. So much so, that the last two seasons have been bad enough to consider him as the worst #1 goaltender in the NHL. He needed to have a solid 2024-25 campaign to show new general manager Don Waddell that he should remain with the Blue Jackets as the #1 goalie.
Merzlikins did improve this season. He went 26-21-5 with a 0.892 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average. While those numbers are not good, they are an improvement from the prior two seasons. There were stretches of time where he looked the part of a #1 goaltender (look at the game against Florida on 3/20 or the Stadium Series game vs. Detroit on 3/1). He definitely helped the Blue Jackets win more games this past season than he lost games for the team.
However, one thing remained consistent: Merzlikins is still inconsistent. While he had good stretches of play, he also had poor stretches of play. Down the stretch, when the team was pushing for a playoff spot, Merzlikins' game faltered.
In March and April, he continued to allow soft goals and struggled to keep the team in a lot of games. In a season where the Blue Jackets just missed the playoffs, they only needed 2-3 more points. That could have been the difference between 1 or 2 goals in a game or two. If he could have reduced the soft goals, that could have been the difference between making the playoffs and not making the playoffs.
I’m not blaming Merzlikins for the team not making the playoffs (there were other issues, such as the dried up offense in March). But, in a sport where the goalie can steal games for you, Merzlikins failed to do so. He didn’t play well enough to be considered a #1 goalie in the NHL.
Elvis suffered a concussion in the final 2 weeks of the season. In that time, young goaltender Jet Greaves came in and propelled the CBJ to a late season surge. What if the team had played Greaves over Merzlikins earlier? What if Merzlikins had played that well? If either of those scenarios played out, the team would have likely made the playoffs. The goaltending was simply not good enough from Merzlikins and it eventually came back to hurt the team in the final standings.
Merzlikins has 2 years remaining on his contract that pays him $5.4 million annually. The below average goaltending is not sustainable for the #1 goaltender position on the club. Due to his hefty contract and poor play, he is virtually untradeable.
So, the Blue Jackets likely have 2 paths they can take with Merzlikins. The first is to hold on to him for the final 2 years of his contract and bring in another goalie to take over the #1 role. That would imply that Merzlikins would be relegated to backup duty. The second option is to buy out the remainder of his contract and allow him to play elsewhere.
Many people want the entire goaltending tandem to be overhauled. With the emergence of Jet Greaves, that seems likely. Acquiring another goalie to play with Greaves may (or should) give the CBJ an improvement in net. Personally, I think that is the ideal option.
Merzlikins has not been consistent. His play over the past 3-4 years has been abysmal. It’s time to move on from him. I think the club would be vastly improved with a completely new duo in net. However, Don Waddell was quoted as saying that buyouts have not been considered yet. While that can change, that may imply that the team is ready to role out a Greaves / Merzlikins tandem next season.
Final season stats: 53 games played, 26 wins, 21 losses, 5 OTL, 3.18 GAA, 0.892 save percentage, 1 SO. Overall grade: C-
Despite an improvement in play from the prior 2 seasons, Elvis Merzlikins still struggled to find consistency in 2024-2025. There were moments when he looked like a #1 goaltender, and moments when he looked like one of the worst goaltenders in the league.
Unfortunately, the latter occurred more often than the former. While Elvis won more games than he lost for the Blue Jackets, there were many losses that could easily be pinpointed to poor goaltending. He receives a C- because of the improvement in play but overall mediocre goaltending.