What Should the Blue Jackets Do With Elvis Merzlikins?
The NHL trade deadline has come and gone, and goaltender Elvis Merzlikins is still with the CBJ. Earlier in the season, Elvis made it clear that he wanted a change of scenery.
While it was unlikely that he would be traded at the trade deadline, there was a possibility that he could be moved to a team that desperately needed a goalie.
So, where does the team and the Latvian netminder go from here? A resolution will come in the summer once a new general manager is hired. That new general manager will have 3 potential options.
Trade Elvis
This is easier said than done. The combination of Elvis $5.4 million cap hit (3 years left) and his recent performance make trading Elvis very difficult.
Most teams won’t make that trade. There appears to be two ways to trade Elvis. The first method is to retain salary. If the CBJ are willing to retain between 25-50% of his salary, then another NHL club may be willing to take on the goaltender.
The return may not be that great, but at least Elvis gets his change of scenery and most of his cap hit is off the payroll.
The second method is to trade for another player with a similar salary. It is not uncommon for teams to swap underperforming players with similar salaries / cap hits. It is possible that the CBJ trade Elvis for a similar type of player.
If the CBJ play their cards correctly, then maybe they could acquire a player with a slightly lower cap hit, less term on their contract, and/or more upside with their talent. No matter how a trade is constructed, it will not be a great trade for the CBJ and will be difficult to piece together.
Buy Elvis Out
This will be a tough pill to swallow. If the Blue Jackets buy-out the remainder of Merzlikins’ contract, then they will still have between $1.1-2.95 million against the cap every season for the next 6 seasons.
They will be paying Elvis $10.5 million dollars over than time to not play for them. That’s just not good business and not an ideal scenario for a team looking to sign its young and budding players to long term contracts.
Keep Elvis
This seems like the less likely option of the three, but is still a possibility due to the difficulty to move Elvis. It’s possible that the Blue Jackets roll out the duo of Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov again next season.
However, if Tarasov is named the #1 goalie (which, based on his recent play, is a possibility), there will likely be added friction since Elvis wants to be the starting goaltender. That could prove to be toxic in the locker room and cause unwanted issues with the team chemistry.
Furthermore, I fully expect the Blue Jackets to add another goaltender in the offseason to increase the competition in the crease. That could invite more tension should Elvis be outperformed by Tarasov and newly acquired goaltender.
Having a divided team is a recipe for disaster. For the CBJ to take the next steps and begin winning again, the team needs to develop good chemistry on and off the ice. It would be wise to not bring Elvis back next season so that team cohesiveness is not put in jeopardy.
It is most likely that Elvis Merzlikins will sport a new jersey next season. His time in the union blue appears to be coming to an end. Coming to the final solution will be tricky and will require some creativity on the part of the new general manager of the CBJ.
It will be an interesting situation to monitor and should be part of a busy summer for the Blue Jackets.
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