Columbus Blue Jackets, Elvis Merzlikins seeking 'new scenario' amid goalie's demotion

Gerry Johansson, a hockey agent, met with one of his clients, Elvis Merzlikins, before the Blue Jackets lost to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday.

More: Tarasov starts, Merzlikins sits as Columbus Blue Jackets seek goaltending answers

After discussing the goalie not playing a minute since leaving a start Dec. 29 with an illness, the two arrived at the same question.

“Elvis and I were both looking at each other like, ‘What is going on?’ " Johansson said. “If you’re going to trade him, you’d think they’d play him. And if you don’t want to trade him, I mean, it’s just a very strange situation.”

Merzlikins, 29, wanted clarity, which Blue Jackets coach Pascal Vincent provided this week by saying the team is giving Daniil Tarasov a shot to play as the team’s top goalie. The idea is to allow Tarasov a number of starts to generate “data” that can be used when the Jackets eventually decide which goalie they’ll choose as their top option for the future.

That makes sense unless you’re Merzlikins, who felt that job was already his with a five-year contract that has a $5.4 million salary-cap charge and three years remaining after this one. Merzlikins, who is practicing and is “100% healthy," hasn’t made an appearance in two full weeks and has reached a boiling point.

From his perspective, he’s been dropped from the top guy to third among the Jackets’ three NHL goalies, which includes Spencer Martin.

“Being (moved to) number three, just like this, in one moment, does shock me,” Merzlikins said. “It surprised me, but then, talking to my agent and my agent talking (to the front office), we agreed on a new scenario ... there has to be a new scenario for me, for my career, I believe.”

Columbus Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins may part ways

What does a “new scenario” mean exactly?

It could mean a trade is in the works, and The Dispatch has learned the team is seeking potential trade partners willing to take the risk of adding Merzlikins and his remaining guaranteed contract.

If so, it may take the Blue Jackets to eat a sizable portion of his salary. They might also need to sweeten the pot by packaging a prospect and/or pick with the goalie in exchange for, essentially, nothing but completing an addition-by-subtraction move. Not playing Merzlikins prevents him from damaging his trade value with a poor performance at the same time it prevents him from improving it with stellar play.

It’s hard to fathom that it’s gotten to this point, but that’s where things appear to stand going into the Jackets' game Saturday against the Seattle Kraken, when Merzlikins will back up Tarasov.

The frustration is now viscerally bubbling inside Merzlikins, who worked hard last summer to rebound from what was statistically the worst of his career.

“You all know, I love Columbus,” he said. “This is my home. My son was born here. I’m going to keep the house here. This is my home. I’m going to spend my summers here. But now ... I’m still a Blue Jacket and I’m going to be a Blue Jacket, and I’m going to play hard, and we’ll see what’s going to happen in the future. I just want to be treated as number one. I believe that I am a number one. It didn’t get to the point where I am requesting (a trade). It went to the point that both sides agreed (to find a solution).”

Columbus Blue Jackets have three options to give goalie Elvis Merzlikins a ‘new scenario’

Trading Merzlikins seems to be the most likely conclusion to the situation.

The Blue Jackets can also keep him on the roster for the remainder of the season and buy out his contract during the league’s offseason buyout window before the draft in June. That’s a sticky situation for the team, which “buys out” the player by paying a reduced salary amount that counts against the cap for an extended number of years beyond the original end date.

The Blue Jackets bought out former center Alexander Wennberg’s contract in 2021, for example, and still have two years left to count $891,667 of it toward their cap, according to Cap Friendly. The deal originally had a $4.9 million cap charge and would have expired after last season.

According to Cap Friendly, Merzlikins has $15.75 million remaining on the last three years of his deal. Buying it out would cost the Blue Jackets $1.75 million a year through 2029-30 for a total savings of $5.25 million. The annual charges they’d be required to count against the cap would be $1.15 million in 2024-25, $1.625 million in 2025-26, $2.925 million in 2026-27 and $1.75 million for each of the final three years.

The third option for changing Merzlikins’ situation wouldn’t go over well at all with Merzlikins, but it’s still possible. They could place Merzlikins on waivers, hoping another team is willing to take on his full remaining contract, and then assign him to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters if he clears following the 24-hour process.

The Blue Jackets would still be on the hook for the full contract amount, but they could reduce the amount charged toward the cap for this season to $1.15 million rather than $5.4 million. That would be taken as a serious slight to Merzlikins, who signed his contract extension prior to the 2021-22 campaign with the idea he would lead them into the future.

“It’s a very strange situation, and there has to be some sort of resolution at some point,” Johansson said. “We’re open to all kinds of ideas, but I don’t think Elvis being a No. 3 goalie makes sense for anybody ... at all. It’s an odd situation, and we’re going to have to figure out a resolution to it. It is strange.”

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins having solid rebound season

Merzlikins has the best goaltending numbers among the Jackets’ NHL goalies, which is in stark contrast to last season.

After struggling to a 4.23 goals-against average and .876 save percentage last year, Merzlikins dedicated last summer’s training to making an improvement. His play has rebounded, but it’s not among the NHL’s elite goalies.

He’s 7-8-6 in 23 appearances and has solid secondary numbers with a 3.25 GAA and .907 save percentage, all while facing a lot of high-danger situations. Vincent hasn’t said he's officially the Jackets’ “number three” option, but that’s how he's felt the past couple weeks. Watching as a scratch in four of the past five games isn’t something he’s interested in doing much longer, and sitting on the bench as a backup is only marginally more tolerable.

In his mind, he’s a No. 1 and wants to play that role whether it’s in Columbus or elsewhere. Tarasov feels the same way, and Martin probably does too. Even Cleveland goalie Jet Greaves, an AHL all-star, has designs on becoming the Jackets’ top goalie at some point.

The difference is Merzlikins actually held that title, which he’s not happy about losing.

“I want to play,” Merzlikins said. “I’m not going to be number three, I can assure you that, especially for the hard work I did this summer, mentally and physically. I just want to play my game and keep having fun, like I had (been doing). ... I just want to have fun, play my hockey and give the best I can.”

Merzlikins even quoted former Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a renowned believer in his own abilities.

"I believe in myself," he said. "You can call me arrogant. Honestly, right now, I’m going to copy the words of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, if you know who that is. ‘I’m not arrogant. I’m just confident.’ I know I’m not a number two or three, and I won’t be it.”

Ibrahimovic also once said, in reference to a contentious relationship with his coach in Barcelona: "When you buy me, you are buying a Ferrari. If you drive a Ferrari, you put premium petrol in the tank, you hit the motorway and you step on the gas. (Pep) Guardiola filled up with diesel and took a spin in the countryside. He should have bought a Fiat."

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Elvis Merzlikins apologized to teammates after penalty that led to OT loss against Washington Capitals

One of the narratives that had begun circulating about Merzlikins’ demotion was tied to an incident that occurred Dec. 21 against the Washington Capitals.

Merzlikins cost the Blue Jackets a potential win by attacking Capitals pestilent forward Tom Wilson inside the Blue Jackets’ net in overtime. Merzlikins bloodied Wilson’s lip, but the Capitals got the last laugh when Alex Ovechkin netted the winning goal against him during the ensuing power play.

Photos show the Capitals taunting Merzlikins as he left the ice, but that was just the start of it.

After the game, Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen was spotted leaving the locker room with an angry look on his face and Vincent laid the blame for the loss at the goalie’s feet during his postgame press conference.

Merzlikins, still hot with anger, didn’t do himself any favors by telling reporters that Wilson got what he deserved and that he wasn’t going to apologize for his actions. The next morning, those feelings changed. Merzlikins apologized to Vincent and addressed the entire team to apologize to them.

“We could’ve won that game, and I let down all of my team, and I felt bad,” Merzlikins said. “I am honest, so the next morning I apologized to ‘Pazzy,’ and Pazzy asked me if I can do that in front of the team, and I apologized to my teammates. They worked hard. They were battling, they were fighting all the time, and because of one little incident, it cost us a game and a point, right? So, I apologized, and we moved on. There is nothing that has to do with that, I can assure you of that.”

Vincent said the same thing, twice, when asked about it Thursday and Friday. Kekalainen also said the team has moved forward, so the only lingering emotion that remains is inside Merzlikins' mind.

“You know, hockey is a game full of emotions,” he said. “I lost my control over there. Good job for Wilson. He won. It still burns that he won mentally. He got in my mind. It’s been a long time since somebody got inside my mind, and he did it, and it burns a little bit. Good job by him on that, but, no, I spoke to ‘Pazzy’ (about it) the next day.”

What’s next for Columbus Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins?

Proverbially speaking, the puck is on the Blue Jackets’ stick now.

Merzlikins wants a “new scenario,” and that’s apparently what the front office wants too. Now, it’s up to Kekalainen and his staff to make it happen. Kekalainen does not talk about trade speculation, even off the record, but he did offer some generalities that may eventually pertain to Merzlikins.

For starters, he’s not opposed to making “addition by subtraction” trades if he feels it’s in the best interests of the Blue Jackets. Hypothetically, that means he’d be willing to take a lesser return in a deal that ultimately makes his team better, whether that’s through the return package or what he’s sending out.

Kekalainen is also not deterred by the task of trading a player with a sizable cap charge and term left on his contract.

“I think you always have to do what’s best for the organization, and then find a way to accomplish that,” he said. “I’m not referring to this particular case, but sometimes (change of scenery trades) can be good.”

As for Merzlikins, his present and future remain cloudy in Columbus. Vincent said it’s possible that any of the Jackets’ three NHL goalies plus Greaves could eventually win the main job moving forward ― including Merzlikins.

“We have three goalies, and we need to decide who’s going to be the guy moving forward,” Vincent said. “Elvis feels he’s a number one. I like that about him. Daniil feels he’s a number one, and if you ask Spencer (Martin), given the chance, he feels that he can be a number one ... and that’s what we want. We want to create that competition, but right now, we’re trying to make informed decisions.”

Merzlikins would prefer not to wait that long.

"It's the organization's decision," he said. "It's something that I can't control. I was still number one. I just jumped straight to number three. I did not like that, obviously. I don't think anybody would like that. I'm healthy. I'm good to go. I can play. There's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is practice the minutes I can as the third goalie, support my teammates, do my hard work in the gym and just wait to see what happens."

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets seeking mutual 'new scenario'