In the spring of 2019, Elvis Merzlikins came to America to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
He did not, he and his agent made clear, come to North America to play for the Cleveland Monsters, the club's AHL affiliate. A refresher: After his season in Switzerland ended, Merzlikins set his contract demands such that the Blue Jackets couldn't send him to Cleveland. He instead signed a (one-year) entry-level contract so that he could sign a one-way contract for this current season, meaning he's paid at his NHL rate no matter what this season.
Basically, he wanted to be paid more and become a UFA sooner rather than later. And he wanted to play in the NHL. A refresher from his comments to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, from last month:
"I come here to play in the NHL, not in Cleveland."
I can't blame him for any of that. But even though he's on a one-way contract, he's still waiver eligible, meaning the club can demote him to the AHL without him having to pass through waivers, so long as they're willing to pay his $874k salary even while he's playing in the AHL.
The club has already shown a propensity for Merzlikins to play in the AHL, namely as a way for him to see game action when the NHL games are spaced out in a way that Joonas Korpisalo isn't overly taxed. In two games with Cleveland, Merzlikins is 1-1 with a .949 sv% and a 1.52 GAA.
Merzlikins, 25, has struggled in the NHL in his rookie season, going 0-4-3 in seven starts with a .889 sv% and a 3.41 GAA. According to hockey-reference, his -5.11 GSAA (goals saved about average) ranks 49th in the NHL. That seems to check out - with 31 teams in the NHL, he's probably played about as well as an average/slightly below average backup. Further, this comes on the heels of the fact that the Blue Jackets' defense is among the best in the league at shot suppression.
It would be a minor miracle for the Blue Jackets to make the playoffs this season. As it stands today, they're nine points back of the second wild-card spot. The Athletic's projection gives them an 11% chance of making the playoffs. The Blue Jackets have one of the youngest teams in the NHL (cue the groans). Their priority should be about developing young players and figuring out their goaltending situation. Merzlikins marinating on the bench isn't beneficial to his development. And at this point, it's clear that Korpisalo is their starter.
Merzlikins is an RFA after this season, meaning the team has control over his contract. They should use that leverage to send him to the AHL for an extended period of time to let him continue to acclimate to the North American rinks.
The Blue Jackets have a young and deep goalie pipeline. Veini Vehvilainen, 22, is starring for Cleveland and probably deserves a call-up at some point. His 2.09 GAA ranks third in the AHL, while his sparkling .921 sv% ranks 10th (that's staggering).
The remaining 50 or so games should be all about development. Are the young players getting better? Are they taking steps? Merzlikins and Korpisalo (also 25) are front and center in that conversation. This organization needs to figure out what they have in goal. For Merzlikins, that means playing games - regardless of the league.
