Going into this season, one of the big question marks for the Columbus Blue Jackets was the goaltending situation at hand between the incumbent starter from a year ago, Elvis Merzlikins, and the budding star from late last season, Jet Greaves. So far, the battle has massively grown the value of both guys, but among all other things, it has also allowed Elvis Merzlikins to play up to the value of his contract.
In recent seasons, there has been much to write home about how poor the play of Merzlikins has been, and because of that, part of the fanbase, and even the management group, have turned against him. However, so far this season, Merzlikins and Greaves have formed one of the best tandems in the NHL and have even used a true game-by-game split.
The funny part about the goaltender tandem is that a season ago, the talk around Merzlikins was what his return in a trade could be. Now this season, it is more about teams that are looking to compete now, trying to get ahold of Merzlikins before his price gets any higher.
Merzlikins posted one of his best efforts in Sunday’s loss on Long Island; however, the emotion spilled over in that one as he broke his stick on the goalpost after giving up the go-ahead goal with just under a minute to play in the game.
Merzlikins played well enough to win that game, but the team fell apart down the stretch in that one.
What Has Turned Around This Season for Merzlikins?
This season, Merzlikins has earned back the trust of his team and management that might have been lost in the past few seasons. His numbers in the past few seasons, however, had been nowhere close to the numbers the Blue Jackets inked him for back in 2021.
Elvis Merzlikins stats:
— CapFriendly Depth Charts (@CF_DepthCharts) February 16, 2023
2019-20 – 2.35 GAA, .923 SV%
2020-21 – 2.77 GAA, .916 SV%
2021-22 – 3.22 GAA, .907 SV%
2022-23 – 4.28 GAA, .873 SV%
Merzilikins signed a 5-year, $27M contract on Sep. 21, 2021.#CBJ
While Merzlikins numbers have slipped, so have the Blue Jackets as a team, and because of that, the contract became more of a sticking point than it would be on a team competing as the Blue Jackets expected to be before that deal. However, Merzlikins has turned the tide this season on almost all of those numbers.
By almost every account, Merzlikins is having the best season of his career through just a short sample size of six games. He has single-handedly held the Blue Jackets in a lot of games this season, and the pairing of him and Greaves has been one of the best in all of hockey. The tandem has saved over 10 goals above expected through 12 games.
Team Goaltending – November 2 pic.twitter.com/hQXO1rPuXd
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 2, 2025
As Merzlikins continues to stay hot early on in the season, the hope for the Blue Jackets is that the contract he signs looks like an underpay by the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. In 2021, that contract was signed to make Merzlikins the franchise goaltender, but he had fallen short of that expectation. Now in the midst of a career revival, he is attempting to carry the Blue Jackets where they haven’t been before.
If Merzlikins and Greaves can continue their success and play every other game throughout this season, it will give the Blue Jackets a chance to keep both guys fresh, but it will also allow them to build other parts of the roster. They have been known to be sellers at the trade deadline nearly every season, but this season, with multiple guys in net, it gives them flexibility to have a backup plan if injuries ever do arise.
This Blue Jackets team needs Merzlikins to continue to play up to that contract, and if he can continue to do so, they can make a push for a division title and much more. However, it all starts and ends in the blue paint.
