Welcome back to the last edition of Blue Jackets News & Rumors in 2023. We hope that your holiday season has gone well for you.
But it’s time to get back into the swing of regular season hockey. The Blue Jackets play Wednesday night in Newark against the New Jersey Devils. Because of league rules, the team will travel to Newark on Wednesday. Teams are not allowed to travel from Dec 24-26.
As usual, we have a lot to get into. Rumors around one particular player seem to not want to go away. Is there any merit to them? That’s where we’ll begin this week.
Merzlikins’ Future
It’s the one rumor that just doesn’t want to seem to go away. What does the future of Elvis Merzlikins look like with the Columbus Blue Jackets?
Many around the hockey world have wondered if a fresh start would benefit both sides. Merzlikins’ struggles have been well documented. However his play has improved this season. Then given the way the Capitals’ game ended, the questions are back at the forefront.
Merzlikins played well in that loss to the Capitals according to his head coach Pascal Vincent. Despite the good play, he didn’t get the start on Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It was Daniil Tarasov who got the call. Vincent said this was part of their plan all along.
“Rotation. He was outstanding,” Vincent said of Merzlikins. “He played amazingly well but we communicate with our players. We took care of what happened and we’re moving forward.”
Merzlikins’ numbers are better than last season but that hasn’t resulted in any improvement in the standings. While that points to the other issues on the team, it opens the door for these rumors to be considered.
In his most recent edition of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman had this to say about Merzlikins: “There’s potential for a move, but probably not until the offseason.”
The key word there is potential. That’s not to say a move is guaranteed to happen. It’s saying a move could happen if the conditions are right.
The 2023-24 season was supposed to be the season Merzlikins took hold of the number-one job. But as we sit here at the end of December, he’s in a three-man platoon situation. Since Tarasov returned to the Blue Jackets, Merzlikins has been both the backup and a healthy scratch.
Merzlikins told me that while it was weird to be healthy scratched, that decision was up to the coaching staff. It has allowed him to work on other things with his goaltending coach Niklas Backstrom. He’s getting additional time to do longer workouts which was something that was lacking early in the season given the condensed schedule.
One does have to wonder though if things behind the scenes aren’t as rosy. How the rest of this season plays out will be the thing that determines what will happen with Merzlikins. He has three years left after this one. The question the Blue Jackets are going to have to answer is if they believe he’s their clear-cut number-one goalie of the future.
Merzlikins’ .909 save percentage is 20th in the NHL for goalies with at least 10 games played. However his goals-against average of 3.17 is 41st. The Blue Jackets allow 34.2 shots per game. If the defense is addressed, could that lead to a better version of Merzlikins?
As Friedman said, a deal if it happened would likely take place in the offseason. Not many teams can take in a $5.4 million salary unless money goes the other way.
What should be the takeaways from this for now? This is one that should be filed away for future reference. There are too many unknowns at this point to definitively say anything one way or the other. The Blue Jackets could elect to make changes to the front office at some point. Merzlikins could get on a heater which could determine a future course of action. It’s too early to say anything when other decisions made could impact that one.
The conditions are favorable for a potential deal eventually. But that doesn’t mean a deal will take place. This is a true wait-and-see approach in which the story is only starting to unfold.
4 Blue Jackets at World Juniors
The World Junior Championships are underway in Sweden. The Blue Jackets are well represented with four prospects playing prominent roles on their team.
Denton Mateychuk and Jordan Dumais are on Team Canada. Mateychuk had an assist and was +3 in their win over Finland. While Dumais didn’t have a shot on goal, he had one chance that rang off the goalpost.
Gavin Brindley was the star of the show for Team USA against Norway. His two goals helped him become the Player of the Game for his team. He used his speed and forecheck to set the tempo of the game. Then he used his shot to help give his team control of the game.
Oiva Keskinen was on the losing end for Team Finland against Team Canada but was given ample opportunity with his 18:12 TOI. He was on the top power-play unit as well.
The Blue Jackets haven’t had much go right for them of late. But one thing that is looking promising has been their recent drafting at the top. Seeing these four prospects at the World Juniors is a good sign of what is coming to Columbus eventually.
Side Dishes
- The Blue Jackets end the 2023 part of their schedule with three games in four nights. They play the Devils Wednesday and then host the Maple Leafs Friday before playing in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.
- What are the major storylines to watch at this juncture? The three-goalie situation remains at the top. Who plays when and can someone separate themselves from the pack? And then how long can they carry three goalies?
- Another story is the influx of returnees from injured reserve. This is going to lead to some tough decisions in order to make room on the roster. Adam Boqvist and Nick Blankenburg don’t seem far from returning. Then up front, Jack Roslovic, Boone Jenner and Patrik Laine are eventually coming back. Who comes out then? Fascinating situation to see how they decide things.
- The third major storyline to watch is the lead up to the trade deadline. If the Blue Jackets allow this front office to handle the March 8 deadline, that could point to them staying beyond this season since they do have another year left on their deals. There doesn’t appear to be anything imminent on any kind of changes as I write this, but if the losses continue to pile up, eventually a decision will need to be made. Why let someone handle the trade deadline if they’re not staying?
- My take on the front office: If the Blue Jackets show real progress the rest of the season, I get the feeling they’ll get a chance to see it through given their recent drafts. However given what ownership said in their statement at the beginning of the season, we cannot rule out changes before the end of the season. The play on the ice is going to tell the story here in my sight.
