Elvis Merzlikins and his wife, Aleksandra, are selling their New Albany home, and the Columbus Blue Jackets goalie is entering the final year of his deal.
The contract carries a $5,400,000 cap hit and pays him $4,225,000 in salary this season, the last of five years.
A home listing isn't a trade request. But in a contract year, it's the kind of detail that gets people talking.
Why the attention? Because the 32-year-old hasn't played in any of Columbus' four preseason games.
Jet Greaves went the full 60 in Saturday's 4-2 win in Detroit, stopping 31 of 33.
Cameron Talbot posted a 15-save shutout in Thursday's 4-0 win over Pittsburgh.
Jet Greaves carried the preseason crease while Merzlikins never got in
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The recent numbers explain why the crease feels open. Merzlikins posted a 3.40 GAA and an .883 save percentage last season.
It wasn't a one-year dip. He finished at .892 in 2024-25 and .897 in 2023-24.
Career-wise, he's at a 3.22 GAA and a .900 save percentage over 274 NHL games.
Those numbers don't earn a new deal. Don Waddell would be right to let this contract run out.
There was a time it looked different. As a rookie in 2019-20, he posted a .923 save percentage with five shutouts.
His last season above .910 came in 2020-21.
Listing the house now is like a coworker quietly taking the family photos off his desk. Maybe he's just redecorating, but the whole office notices.
Columbus has bigger money to protect. Adam Fantilli carries a $13,750,000 cap hit, and Zachary Werenski sits at $9,583,333.
Rick Bowness' Blue Jackets finished the preseason 3-1 and open Thursday at home against Buffalo.
Whether Merzlikins even gets the opener is an open question. If he doesn't, the sign in front of that New Albany house will start to look like a message.
Should the Blue Jackets let Elvis Merzlikins walk after this season?
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