The Columbus Blue Jackets had a 23-point improvement in the standings this season. This is a really impressive accomplishment, but they are not happy with it. Nor should they be. After all, they fell two points short of a playoff spot, seeing their summer come way earlier than they hoped.
With the team not reaching their goals, change is surely going to come. GM Don Waddell will have to make decisions on a wide assortment of pending free agents. Once that's done, his attention may quickly turn to performing deeper surgery on the roster.
At a glance, it's easy to pick out three guys who could be shipped out in an effort to clear salary and roster space, as he tries to make upgrades to this Blue Jackets team. Interestingly, there is one guy at each position. Let's dive right in.
Elvis Merzlikins continues to struggle.
One of the biggest areas of needed improvement for the Blue Jackets is the goaltending position. While things were a little bit better between the pipes this season, it was still a big issue.
They finished tied for 20th overall with a team save percentage of .896%, and 25th with a 3.26 goals against average. For a team that finished tied for 7th in the league in goals per game, it's easy to see why they missed the playoffs this season. They gave up too many goals.
That doesn't all fall on the shoulders of the goaltenders, but a big part of it does. Consider this fact: Elvis Merzlikins was the 12th highest paid goalie in the NHL this season by AAV. This includes Carey Price, who won't play in the league again. Only 10 guys around the league made more money against the cap than Elvis this season, and he has two years left on his deal.
He finished the season tied for 48th in the NHL in save percentage (min: 15gp). Over the course of the season, he had -8.2 goals saved above expected, 14th-worst in the league. Only two goaltenders surrendered more than his 168 goals against this year.
For a guy who is paid to be a top-15 player at his position, it just wasn't good enough. On far too many occasions, the Jackets found themselves in a hole because of a leaky goal against. This is the kind of play we're talking about:
Räty rips it home! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/9kJxCvvGfE
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 29, 2025
I'm not sure what else the defender is supposed to do here. He takes away time and space, forces a long shot with no screen ... and it goes clean by Merzlikins.
Consistency - or lack thereof - has been an issue ever since he was signed to his 5-year, $27 million dollar extension back in 2022. Since then, his save percentages have been .876%, .897%, and .892%. This is under three different head coaches, two different goaltending coaches, and two different general managers.
At some point, the issue isn't everyone else, and you have to try something different. With the way Jet Greaves came in and steadied the position over the last two weeks of the regular season, there is no doubt in my mind that the first step towards getting this team over the hump is getting better consistency out of their goaltenders.
It's entirely possible that the team could come back into next season with Merzlikins as part of its tandem, alongside Greaves. But, he would almost certainly have to split starts. It's possible that he could even become the backup, and considering how he reacted the last time he wasn't handed the bulk of the starts; I don't see that working out too well.
In my opinion, the best solution for both sides here would be a contract buyout this summer. According to Waddell, this hasn't been considered yet. But, they have to at least consider it at this point because it's actually palatable against the rising salary cap for the next few years.
On the next slide, we'll take a look at another pressing issue that needs resolution.