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Elvis Merzlikins Won't Be Healthy For Blue Jackets Finale

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The Columbus Blue Jackets will have to stick with alternative options in net as starter Elvis Merzlikins is not expected to be healthy for the team’s season finale on Thursday per NHL.com’s Jeff Svoboda. Merzlikins has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury. He’s not far off from a return and has already returned to practice, should Columbus find a way to extend their season. To make the playoffs, the Blue Jackets will need to win their final game, and hope the Montreal Canadiens lose their finale against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Blue Jackets will face a tough decision should they break into the postseason. Merzlikins has a quaint .892 save percentage and 26-21-5 record on the season. That’s been enough to perform above backup Daniil Tarasov’s .881 save percentage, but it’s hardly been enough to boost the squad’s playoff odds. With Greaves having one of the hottest gloves in the hockey world over his last four games, Columbus could opt for the youngster as they pursue their first playoff bid since 2020.

Examining The Blue Jackets Goaltending Situation

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The Columbus Blue Jackets shocked many folks this season as they remained in contention for a playoff spot for much of the season despite receiving goaltending that was well below average. Had Columbus received even league-average goaltending, they would have been in a solid spot to make the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets used three goaltenders this season, with Elvis Merzlikins dressing in 52 games, while Daniil Tarasov appeared 20 times, and Jet Greaves found his way into six NHL games. Greaves was the only goaltender of the three to post a positive goals saved above expected figure with a +0.9; Tarasov was a -4.4, and Merzlikins had a -9.1 (as per Money Puck). Now, it’s not fair to place all of the blame on the Blue Jackets’ goaltending for them likely missing the playoffs, but make no mistake, Columbus should be looking at improving their goaltending this summer.

If Columbus intends to improve in net, they likely won’t find much help on the free agent market as most pending UFA goaltenders have been locked up to long-term deals. With the best available options signed, the free agent market has nothing but career backups and projects available to sign.

The best UFA option is New Jersey Devils backup Jake Allen, who has an incredible contract year, posting 19.5 GSAx (as per Money Puck) in 28 games with the Devils. The 34-year-old veteran of over 450 NHL games hasn’t been a full-time NHL starter since the 2018-19 season when he lost the starter role to Jordan Binnington, who led the St. Louis Blues to the Stanley Cup. Allen is in the second year of a two-year $7.7MM contract, and given the lack of options in free agency, he could improve on his $3.85MM cap hit. The Blue Jackets could sign Allen in hopes of him being a solid 1B option to play alongside Merzlikins, but if they do, they could end up spending $10MM on a goaltending duo that is just okay.

Another UFA option could be Carolina’s Frederik Andersen, who once again posted fantastic numbers with the Hurricanes. The knock on the 35-year-old is that he hasn’t been able to remain healthy for long stretches, which could be problematic in Columbus if they envisioned him as a starter. Andersen has played more than 35 games just once since 2020 and, at this late stage of his career, is better suited to split time with another goalie.

The trade market is the likeliest place for the Blue Jackets to find help, and options are available depending on what avenue they hope to explore. If Columbus wanted to give Merzlikins a fresh start, they could swap him for any other high-priced goaltender looking for a new home. Tristan Jarry and Philipp Grubauer are two names that come to mind, as both men make north of $5MM annually and could use a blank slate with a new team.

Jarry is a two-time all-star who is young enough to rediscover his game. However, he would be an expensive gamble with three years left on his deal at $5.375MM per season. Jarry has obvious talent but, for whatever reason, has never been able to string solid seasons together, bouncing back and forth between a solid starter and a liability. Any team that opts to trade for the Surrey, British Columbia native will be betting that they are getting the solid starter and not a liability who was demoted twice this season and even passed through waivers.

Grubauer has a similar story to Jarry but is four years older and has had a much longer stretch of poor play. The 33-year-old has been a below-average NHL goaltender since signing with the Seattle Kraken in July 2021, and much like Jarry, he was demoted this season to the AHL. At this stage of his career, Grubauer doesn’t appear to be an NHL goalie and is unlikely to be someone Columbus would be willing to trade for.

Their respective teams may buy out one or both of Jarry and Grubauer and if they do, they could become good options for the Blue Jackets to consider as backups. However, Jarry would make more sense with their current cap hits than Grubauer. His game does come with warts, and there is no guarantee that he will improve Columbus’ abysmal goaltending next year.

If Columbus wanted to swing a trade for a bigger name, they could look to John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks. Gibson had a bounce-back season this year, posting his first positive GSAx since 2018-19 (as per Money Puck). The 31-year-old has struggled for half a decade but hasn’t had the benefit of playing behind a strong defensive team. Gibson has long been rumored to be on the move but has remained with the Ducks through a problematic rebuild. But now, with Lukas Dostal’s development, Gibson has been relegated to a backup and would benefit from a fresh start. Columbus would be a good fit for the Pittsburgh native. However, Columbus must fit Gibson’s considerable cap hit ($6.4MM) into their salary structure. With Gibson having a strong season, Anaheim will look to capitalize on his trade value and finally resolve this situation. There are so few options on the market that Gibson should be in demand, and the Blue Jackets could look to add the veteran to try and stabilize their goaltending.

Finally, one name who could be available is Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues. Binnington has developed a reputation as a big-game goalie, among other things. The 31-year-old had struggled the past few seasons before this one but has re-established himself since the 4 Nations Face-Off and has helped St. Louis into a playoff position. The Blues have Joel Hofer waiting to take over the starter’s role. However, he’s struggled this season, which could give St. Louis doubts about moving on from the veteran Binnington.

The goaltending market is fragile this summer, which is unfortunate timing for the Blue Jackets if they plan to upgrade their goaltending. However, as the Washington Capitals showed last summer, the minor moves for goaltenders can sometimes pay off significantly. Columbus will be hoping for the same good fortunes that the Capitals had when they traded for Logan Thompson last summer while shipping out the underperforming Darcy Kuemper.

Photo by Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Greaves Recalled From Cleveland

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  • With Elvis Merzlikins unavailable for tonight’s must-win game against Buffalo, the Blue Jackets announced the recall of Jet Greaves from AHL Cleveland on an emergency basis. The 24-year-old has been up with Columbus several times this season, posting a 2.83 GAA and a .905 SV% in six outings heading into today’s action.  He has a 2.62 GAA and a .910 SV% in 40 games with the Monsters and with Daniil Tarasov struggling, Greaves got the start against the Sabres.

William Whitelaw Enters Transfer Portal For Second Straight Year

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  • Blue Jackets prospect William Whitelaw is looking for a new place to play next season as he has entered the NCAA transfer portal, relays Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal (Twitter link). The 20-year-old was an early third-round pick back in 2023, going 66th overall but has bounced around since then.  He played at Wisconsin in his freshman year but after managing 10 goals and seven assists in 37 games, he entered the portal and wound up choosing to play at Michigan this year.  The change of scenery didn’t yield much of an increase in production, just one extra goal in two fewer games so it appears he’s hoping the third time is the charm in terms of finding the right school to play at.

Dante Fabbro Returns From Undisclosed Injury

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  • The Columbus Blue Jackets benefited greatly tonight from the return of defenseman Dante Fabbro from an undisclosed injury (Tweet Link). After tallying three points in the team’s recent win against the Vancouver Canucks, Fabbro missed against the Senators before returning tonight. In an equally promising game, Fabbro scored one goal and one assist in 20:41 of ice time.

    [SOURCE LINK]

Blue Jackets Sign Guillaume Richard To Entry-Level Contract

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The Blue Jackets signed defenseman Guillaume Richard to a two-year, entry-level contract beginning with the 2025-26 season, the team announced. The rearguard is coming off his senior season at Providence College and was going to become an unrestricted free agent on Aug. 15 if not signed. Richard’s deal carries a cap hit of $867.5K and pays him a $775K NHL salary, $92.5K signing bonus, and $57.5K games played bonus each season, PuckPedia reports.

Richard, a 2021 fourth-round pick, has been a steady contributor on the Providence blue line over the last four seasons. A defensive-minded D-man with good puck skills, he totaled 9-45–54 with 73 PIMs and a +24 rating across 139 games for the Friars. This year, he served as an alternate captain and tied for the team lead in scoring among blue-liners.

He doesn’t crack the top 15 in a loaded Columbus prospect pool (Scott Wheeler of The Athletic), but the organization evidently likes his tools enough and hopes he can be a bottom-pairing piece someday. That likely won’t be as soon as next season, but he should be in contention for a heavy workload on the farm with AHL Cleveland. The 6’2″ lefty will have a couple of years to prove he’s on the right track developmentally before potentially reaching restricted free agency in 2027.

The Quebec City native becomes the 31st player under contract for Columbus next season, leaving them with 19 open spots. They have 24 pending free agents in the organization, so a good portion of them won’t be coming back. It’s worth noting the Jackets are at the 50-contract limit for this year, so they didn’t have the option to sign Richard to a contract that begins immediately.

Blue Jackets Activate Cole Sillinger

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March 28: The Blue Jackets activated Sillinger off injured reserve as expected, per the NHL’s media site. Head coach Dean Evason confirmed to reporters, including Jeff Svoboda of NHL.com, that Sillinger will be in the lineup. James van Riemsdyk will be a healthy scratch to make room for Sillinger’s return.

March 26: The Blue Jackets will have forward Cole Sillinger and defenseman Jake Christiansen available for Friday’s game against the Canucks, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. Both have been medically cleared to return from their respective injuries. The former was on injured reserve, so he’ll need to be activated, while Christiansen remained on the active roster during his absence.

Sillinger, 21, hasn’t played since the end of February. He sustained a shoulder injury on Feb. 27 against the Red Wings and missed their outdoor rematch a few days later. General manager Don Waddell immediately made clear he’d miss a few weeks, and he landed on IR a few days later to make room for winger Yegor Chinakhov’s activation. With no roster limit post-trade deadline, there won’t be a corresponding move this time.

Assuming he gets back into action against Vancouver, Sillinger will look to continue his four-year career’s most productive offensive campaign. The 2021 No. 12 overall pick hasn’t dominated, but he’s gotten his development back on track after a difficult sophomore season and has recorded a career-high 0.39 assists per game and 0.54 points per game in 2024-25. He ranks ninth on the team in scoring with 9-20–29 in 54 games, although he has a club-worst -15 rating. He’s won 46.4% of his draws, averaging 17:18 per game, sixth-most among Columbus forwards.

Shoulder injuries have been commonplace for CBJ forwards this year, ending Kevin Labanc’s campaign last month and taking huge chunks out of Erik Gudbranson’s and Boone Jenner’s seasons. The former only returned to action on Monday after sustaining a shoulder injury in October.

It’s unclear who might come out of the lineup for Sillinger. The Jackets are two points back of a wild-card spot but have the Islanders and Rangers standing in between them and Montreal. Their shootout win over the former earlier this week has their playoff chances at 13% entering tonight’s games, per MoneyPuck, and they could get some help with a Vancouver win over the Isles.

Christiansen has been out with an upper-body injury since March 13, missing five games with an upper-body injury. He’d played in Columbus’ first 65 games of the season, but with Gudbranson making his return, it stands to reason Christiansen could remain a healthy scratch despite being cleared to play. He’s averaged 12:43 per game to date, posting 1-7–8 with a plus-eight rating and 47 hits.

Blue Jackets Sign Charlie Elick, Caleb MacDonald To Entry-Level Deals

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The Blue Jackets announced entry-level deals for defensemen Charlie Elick and Caleb MacDonald today. Both begin next season. Elick’s is a three-year pact, while MacDonald’s is for two years. McDonald’s deal will carry a $925K cap hit and $97.5K signing bonus, per PuckPedia. Financial details of Elick’s deal haven’t been revealed.

Elick was already in the organization. Columbus selected the 19-year-old 36th overall in last year’s draft, making him the fourth pick of the second round. A 6’4″, 203-lb right-shot rearguard, he’s a smooth-skating defensive specialist with a penchant for physicality. The Austria-born Canadian national is coming off his third entire season in the Western Hockey League, split between the Brandon Wheat Kings and Tri-City Americans thanks to a midseason trade. He compiled 2-13–15 with 55 PIMs and a minus-six rating in 66 appearances between the clubs.

While not drafted for his offensive production, that’s still a semi-concerning downturn from his 2023-24 campaign with the Wheat Kings. In his draft year, he managed 4-23–27 in 65 games with a plus-four rating, winning a gold medal with Canada at the U18 World Championship.

Elick ranks No. 11 in the Blue Jackets’ prospect pool, per Scott Wheeler of The Athletic. He’s the second-place right-handed defender behind Luca Marrelli, who Columbus selected one round after him last summer and signed an entry-level contract in December.

MacDonald is a new addition to the system. Another big lefty (6’4″, 225 lbs), he’s a 22-year-old coming off his second collegiate season. The undrafted rearguard from Ontario played his freshman year with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks before transferring to North Dakota for his sophomore campaign. He did well in the spotlight against much tougher competition, posting 3-7–10 with a plus-seven rating in 35 games for the Fighting Hawks.

While hard-hitting like Elick, he offers more offensive upside. Before jumping to college, he was a junior ’A’ standout with the Whitecourt Wolverines of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He put up 16-79–95 in 126 games there across three seasons, including a 9-50–59 run in 57 games in 2022-23 that got him named the league’s most outstanding defenseman.

MacDonald will presumably report to AHL Cleveland next season, while Elick doesn’t turn 20 until after New Year’s and thus remains ineligible for an AHL assignment in 2025-26. He’ll need to be sent back to the Americans and play out another season in juniors before jumping to the pros. His entry-level deal will slide one year as a result, pushing his expiry from 2028 to 2029. MacDonald’s deal isn’t slide-eligible and will run out in 2027. Both players will be restricted free agents when their contracts end.

Prospect Notes: Kirsanov, Pinelli, Hage

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With the end of the season nearing, news surrounding some of the league’s top prospects is beginning to ramp up. The Los Angeles Kings are the focal point of the latest updates, after news that Russian defender Kirill Kirsanov could sign with the team at the end of the season, per Scott Coffman of Mayor’s Manor.

The Kings drafted Kirsanov in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, just months after his rookie season in Russia’s KHL came to a close. He tallied just three points in 29 games in his first pro year, but showed upside as a heavy and physical presence in the defensive end. Kirsanov continued to plant his feet in the KHL in the subsequent three seasons, routinely rivaling 25 games and a few points each year. He’s found a bit more stride with Novgorod Torpedo this season, with a career-high seven points in a career-high 34 KHL games – though his best impact remains close to his end boards. It will be the six-foot-two, 220-pound frame that Los Angeles looks forward to in signing the 22-year-old Russian, as they look to find the hefty compliment for impactful youngsters like Brandt Clarke and Jordan Spence.

Other notes across the prospect world:

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have assigned 2023 fourth-round draft pick Luca Pinelli to the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters. Pinelli’s OHL season with the Ottawa 67s came to an end on Sunday. He closed the season with a team-leading 37 goals and 71 points in 52 games. That’s just narrowly ahead of his scoring pace last season, when he potted 48 goals and 82 points in 68 games. But Pinelli’s story tood tall this year, as he led a 67s roster that struggled to score when he was off the ice. Ottawa managed just 205 goals as a team, good for third-lowest in the OHL. Pinelli is a speedy puck-handler who pushes transition – and carries surprising heft and strength on the puck for his five-foot-nine frame. He’ll be an interesting prospect to watch in the pros, after scoring 252 points in 246 career games, and four seasons, in the OHL.
  • Top Montreal Canadiens prospect Michael Hage has decided to return to the University of Michigan for his sophomore season, per Marco D’Amico of RG Media. Montreal drafted Hage 21st overall in the 2024 NHL Draft, after he scored 33 goals and 75 points in 54 USHL games as the Chicago Steel’s top center. He followed that performance with 13 goals and 34 points in 33 games in Michigan’s top-role this year – good for second in scoring on the Wolverines behind 23-year-old junior T.J. Hughes’ 38 points. Hughes is viewed by many as a top college free agent this summer. His signing could open a clear path for Hage to become Michigan’s true star scorer next year. On top of many returnees on a young roster, Hage will be joined by 2025 NHL Draft prospects Cole McKinney and Aidan Park in 2025-26.

Blue Jackets Sign Jack Williams To Entry-Level Contract

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The Blue Jackets have signed undrafted free agent center Jack Williams to a two-year entry-level contract beginning immediately, the team announced today. Williams will report directly to Columbus for the remainder of the regular season, but since he wasn’t on the Blue Jackets’ reserve list at the trade deadline, he isn’t eligible to suit up in the playoffs if Columbus makes the cut.

Per PuckPedia, the deal carries a cap hit of $923,750 and breaks down as follows:

2024-25: $877.5K prorated base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $85K prorated minors salary
2025-26: $775K prorated base salary, $97.5K signing bonus, $102.5K games played bonus, $85K minors salary

Williams, 23, is coming off his junior season at Northeastern. The Jackets had been in contact with his camp for a few days but weren’t considered favorites for his services, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. Offering him an ELC that begins immediately – meaning he’ll land a signing bonus today instead of on July 1 – likely helped their cause.

A captain for the Huskies this season, Williams led the club with 16-25–41 in 37 games. The school’s two leading scorers, himself and Sharks prospect Cameron Lund, have now both signed ELCs that begin with immediate effect. Called a “skilled, hard-working player with a passion for the game” by Columbus general manager Don Waddell, Williams leaves Northeastern after posting 39-55–94 with a +11 rating in 106 career collegiate matchups. He was a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award in both 2024 and 2025.

He’ll now jump into a Blue Jackets organization that’s turned a longstanding weakness down the middle into a strength, now boasting a resurgent Sean Monahan with the rapidly developing Adam Fantilli right behind him. He likely won’t have many playing opportunities as they remain with a legitimate shot at climbing back into playoff position, but if they’re eliminated from contention with a couple of games left, Williams could get a chance to debut.

In all likelihood, Williams will be destined for development time with AHL Cleveland next year. He’ll need at least a semi-intriguing performance at that level to earn a qualifying offer from the Jackets in the summer of 2026 upon reaching restricted free agency.

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