Elvis Merzlikins has left Nationwide Arena, exiting as part of a Blue Jackets blockbuster trade Sept. 28 with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After spending the first seven seasons of his NHL career in Columbus, the enigmatic goalie will continue to rehab his surgically repaired left shoulder with the Maple Leafs in the final season of a five-year contract he signed Sept. 21, 2021 with the Blue Jackets.
The New Albany home that he and his wife, Aleksandra, bought in 2022 to start a family that includes two young sons is for sale, the job Merzlikins formerly held as the Blue Jackets' top goalie belongs to Jet Greavesand it's now time for a breath of fresh air.
Merzlikins gets a needed
change of scenery after struggling with inconsistency the past four years, while the Blue Jackets can fully move forward with Greaves and veteran Cam Talbot, 39, backing him up. It's not how the Blue Jackets or fans wanted things to end with Merzlikins, who arrived with a lot of fanfare from Switzerland in 2019 as Sergei Bobrovsky's heir apparent.
The future looked bright for Merzlikins as the COVID-19 pandemic hit with a month left in the 2019-20 season, as he dazzled during his rookie season. His first career shutout happened, appropriately enough for a guy named after Elvis Presley, in Las Vegas, and he proceeded to notch four more goose eggs before a virus brought that season to a screeching halt.
An injury during his second season (2020-21) caused his numbers to slip, but Merzlikins rebounded enough in 2020-21 to earn a contract extension worth $27 million over five years. He's finishing that deal now, after signing it on the verge of training camp prior to his third NHL season.
That was also two months after a tragedy that shook Merzlikins and the Blue Jackets to their core.
Matiss Kivleniek, a Blue Jackets rookie goalie from Latvia, like Merzlikins, was killed July 4, 2021, in a fireworks incident that occurred during a wedding reception at the home of the Jackets' then-goalie coach, Manny Legace, in Novi, Michigan. Police ruled the death accidental, but witnessing it firsthand left deep emotional scars for Mertzlikins.
He struggled in 2021-22 while grieving Kivlenieks' death, posting a 3.22 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 59 games (56 starts), and those numbers dropped even more in 2022-23 (4.23 GAA, .876 SV%). A slight uptick in 2023-24 was followed by inconsistency the past two seasons, which opened the door for Greaves to earn the Jackets' top goalie role.
After telling Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness in April 2026 that he planned to challenge Greaves for the No. 1 role in camp this season, Merzlikins' plan hit a snag when he underwent shoulder surgery Aug. 17 to correct an unspecified injury. No return timeline was issued, and the Jackets' once promising goalie was included in a trade with the Maple Leafs that revolves around star Kirill Marchenko.
Merzlikins, after seven seasons, finishes his Blue Jackets career with a 108-11-38 record, 3.22 GAA, .900 save percentage and 12 shutouts while starting 258 of his 274 appearances. He ranks second all-time in games (274) played, minutes played (15,300), saves (7,367)m, assists (seven) and wins (108), while ranking first in penalty minutes (24) and third in shutouts (12).
Dispatch Blue Jackets/Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.coma
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets end Elvis Merzlikins era in Kirill Marchenko trade
