On Monday, Elvis Merzlikins said that he requested a trade from the Blue Jackets after over two weeks of not playing. This season Merzlikins has posted an 8-8-6 record with a .906SV% and a 3.22 GAA while ranking 46th in goals saved above expected, per moneypuck.com. On Tuesday, I wrote about the difficulty of trading him due to the three years remaining on his contract at a $5.4M cap hit. On Wednesday, our Will Chase broke down what the outside perception is of this situation and the drama that surrounds the team.
Elvis Merzlikins Trade Request
While it makes sense for both parties to split as soon as possible, his contract and the lack of cap space for potential suitors make a breakup ahead of the March 8th trade deadline unlikely.
However, if the Blue Jackets are committed to moving off of Merzlikins, a buyout in the summer must be considered.
The following picture is from capfriendly.com's buyout calculator and shows how much the Blue Jackets would save each year if they were to buy Merzlikins out.
For the first three seasons of the buyout, which would be the last three years of his contract, the Blue Jackets will save a total of $10.5M against the cap. In the final three years, they will take on a total of $5.25M in dead cap. This is an extremely team-friendly buyout when you consider the total dead cap hit would be less than his current $5.4M cap hit.
Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is no stranger to buyouts, either, as he bought out the final three years of Alexander Wennberg's six-year, $4.9M AAV contract in 2020, which counts $891,667 against the Blue Jackets cap every year through 2025-26.
Whether or not ownership wants to pay Merzlikins not to play for the team is definitely a factor in a potential decision to buy him out, but if they go in that direction, it's not a financially devastating one, either.
If the Blue Jackets can't trade Merzlikins in the summer, buying him out has to be on the table, right?
