After making 27 saves in a 4-3 shootout win over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins revealed that he requested a trade away from the club.
This comes three days after saying he did not request a trade but wanted a "new scenario" after he had been scratched since Jan. 2 and hadn't played since Dec. 29.
Heres the audio of when Elvis Merzlikins said he requested a trade during his postgame media availability today. #CBJ pic.twitter.com/W0oPvXzOsA
— Coby Maeir (@CobyMaeir) January 15, 2024
"I'm happy for the win," Merzlikins said. "And I'm really happy for the boys. You know, after my last interview that everyone knows I requested [a] trade, everyone was still here playing for me."
This season, Merzlikins has posted a record of 8-8-6 in 24 games along with a .906SV% and a 3.22 GAA, a huge improvement over the 2022-23 season, where he posted a 7-18-2 record in 30 games with an .876SV% and 4.23 GAA.
| Elvis Merzlikins' NHL stats (via hockeydb.com) | RS Scoring | More -> | RS Goalie Stats | PO Scoring | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | A | PIM | Min | GA | EN | SO | GAA | W | L | T | Svs | Pct | GP | A | PIM | |
| 2019-20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1815 | 71 | 0 | 5 | 2.35 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 848 | 0.923 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2019-20 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 119 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.52 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 56 | 0.949 | ||||
| 2020-21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 28 | 1 | 0 | 1497 | 69 | 0 | 2 | 2.77 | 8 | 12 | 5 | 756 | 0.916 | - | - | - | |
| 2021-22 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 59 | 2 | 8 | 3320 | 178 | 0 | 2 | 3.22 | 27 | 23 | 7 | 1742 | 0.907 | - | - | - | |
| 2022-23 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 30 | 1 | 4 | 1560 | 110 | 0 | 0 | 4.23 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 779 | 0.876 | - | - | - | |
| 2023-24 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 24 | 0 | 4 | 1341 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 3.22 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 696 | 0.906 | ||||
| NHL Totals | 174 | 4 | 16 | 9 | 3.15 | 63 | 70 | 28 | 0.906 | ||||||||||
The Blue Jackets will close their three-game homestand on Friday against the New Jersey Devils at 7 p.m. ET on Bally Sports Ohio.
