Blue Jackets new GM, Don Waddell, on possibly trading Elvis Merzļikins: “Let’s be honest, nobody is going to trade for that contract.”

[Spring in Fialta]

Are we supposed to pretend none of us including Elvis didnt know this?

I don't understand this. I'm sure Waddell didn't mean it to diss the guy, but I'm not sure why pointing it out the extremely obvious, publically, for a long-standing player and with such wording doesn't make him across like a jackass.

And no, before the chorus starts, this isn't just people picking on the Blue Jackets. It just seems completely unnecessary.

 

[stevo61]

I don't understand this. I'm sure Waddell didn't mean it to diss the guy, but I'm not sure why pointing it out the extremely obvious, publically, for a long-standing player and with such wording doesn't make him across like a jackass.

And no, before the chorus starts, this isn't just people picking on the Blue Jackets. It just seems completely unnecessary.

Im pretty sure Elvis has said something to the same effect in the past. I know honesty is bad these days but its a whole lot of nothing. If Elvis wants to move on he'd have to play at a level to make a team take the risk

 

[HockeyVirus]

Top 15 based on stats accrued from another team? Or top 15 based on GSae without taking into account workload?

The Leafs are rumored to be looking at Brossoit. They'd be running a tandem if two goalies who've never played 30 games in a season.

Ah yes, if there isn't a good fit out there, better go and make a massive mistake taking on someone terrible to say you did something

 

[67 others]

Just outta curiosity, on a scale of 10 to 11, how outraged were you when Colin Kaepernick took a knee? The mere mention of Greta Thunberg does what to your blood pressure?

It’s about not being a prick and having a decent work environment. That quote doesn’t make trading Elvis or dealing him any easier, so Waddell should keep his jowls from flapping by shutting up. ..see how that’s maybe not the most effective communication?

What does any of that have to do with.....anything? Lol

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

What does any of that have to do with.....anything? Lol

Just my observation that a lot of these “thick skin” folk are actually offended by everything, was curious to see if that’s the case.

 

[belair]

Ah yes, if there isn't a good fit out there, better go and make a massive mistake taking on someone terrible to say you did something

Or you could pay a premium price for someone whose found success elsewhere but limits your ability to have depth on your future roster due to their contract.

Projecting goaltenders is complicated. The fact that Laurent Brossoit is the rumored target in Toronto makes that apparent. The guy has been viewed as a sieve at numerous points in his career. But there he is, one of the better available goalies statistically this summer.

Get a goalie. Put a better team in front of them.

 

[67 others]

Just my observation that a lot of these “thick skin” folk are actually offended by everything, was curious to see if that’s the case.

Seems like a strange observation. I'm not offended by much, but I wrote something similar to the what guy you responded to wrote.

Elvis should be using this as fuel to drive self improvement. If he is the type to be devastated by this fair and realistic observation then he can agree to mutually terminate his contract if it bothers him that much

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Seems like a strange observation. I'm not offended by much, but I wrote something similar to the what guy you responded to wrote.

Elvis should be using this as fuel to drive self improvement. If he is the type to be devastated by this fair and realistic observation then he can agree to mutually terminate his contract if it bothers him that much

Eh, just saying the crowd screaming “I’m not offended by anything”, are, in fact, often offended by everything that doesn’t fit their narrow perspective. If that doesn’t apply to you, no offense given or taken.

And right, but it’s just about whether it’s productive to have your boss say that out loud. I know I suck, everyone does, do we really wanna call attention to that and frame me in a bad light when that isn’t totally necessary and can remain an unspoken thing? I’m not saying he’s wrong or that Elvis should be pissed, just saying it isn’t really productive or helpful in any way. Making your employee/goalie look bad when you coulda taken a more diplomatic approach is straight stupid, imo.

 

[HockeyVirus]

Or you could pay a premium price for someone whose found success elsewhere but limits your ability to have depth on your future roster due to their contract.

Projecting goaltenders is complicated. The fact that Laurent Brossoit is the rumored target in Toronto makes that apparent. The guy has been viewed as a sieve at numerous points in his career. But there he is, one of the better available goalies statistically this summer.

Get a goalie. Put a better team in front of them.

The team is not 1 offseason from retooling. Next year they have a lot more flexibility and an idea of what their kids really are (quite a few promising prospects at forward).

I suspect if they can't make a deal, they go into this year with Woll as the #1 and hope he stays healthy

 

[Spawn]

Elvis was above .900 hockey for about 3/4 of last year. I really don't believe that he couldn't be moved with retention. I think Waddell's statement is just about interest in Elvis' full contract, and I'd presume it's because Waddell refuses to do retention.

That's a bit of a spin. He has one really good stretch early in the season and then saw his number slowly decline the rest of the way. There were only 2 months of the season where he was posting numbers above league average. Every other month he was below (or far below).

 

[67 others]

Eh, just saying the crowd screaming “I’m not offended by anything”, are, in fact, often offended by everything that doesn’t fit their narrow perspective. If that doesn’t apply to you, no offense given or taken.

And right, but it’s just about whether it’s productive to have your boss say that out loud. I know I suck, everyone does, do we really wanna call attention to that and frame me in a bad light when that isn’t totally necessary and can remain an unspoken thing? I’m not saying he’s wrong or that Elvis should be pissed, just saying it isn’t really productive or helpful in any way. Making your employee/goalie look bad when you coulda taken a more diplomatic approach is straight stupid, imo.

I'm the opposite. I think tough love is good in alpha male full contact sports and the types of people who excel can feed off this sort of thing and rise above.

I find it puzzling to fret over the treatment of underperforming athletes being paid multimillion dollar deals to work 30-50 games a year like they are some office worker. They can't be fired easily and have the easy mode life as far as money goes. The only road ahead is shame him into hating his words enough to drive improvement, or into a mutual contract termination.

 

[majormajor]

That's a bit of a spin. He has one really good stretch early in the season and then saw his number slowly decline the rest of the way. There were only 2 months of the season where he was posting numbers above league average. Every other season he was below (or far below).

He has played five NHL seasons, here are his numbers relative to league average save percentage.

League SV%	Elvis SV%
.910	.923	far above average
.908	.916	a bit above average
.907	.907	average
.904	.876	far below average
.903	.897	a bit below average

And you accuse me of spin?

Edit: poster was talking about every other month, not year. Not a big deal.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Rob Blake disagrees

 

[belair]

The team is not 1 offseason from retooling. Next year they have a lot more flexibility and an idea of what their kids really are (quite a few promising prospects at forward).

I suspect if they can't make a deal, they go into this year with Woll as the #1 and hope he stays healthy

How would trading for a 30-year-old proven starting goaltender to split starts with your current unproven 25-year-old suggest a re-tool?

The premise was adding Adam Boqvist, who addresses two weak areas that your roster had in the Boston series--transition and powerplay. And you'd be doing so at a significantly lower cost that paying the toll for a bigger name like Saros or Ullmark, who'd both tie up a tremendous amount of salary with their extensions.

Joe Woll has yet to start 30 games in a single regular season. Banking on that goalie to sustain his current quality of play over what's likely twice the amount of starts is essentially hopes and dreams level optimism.

The Leafs priorities this offseason are adding adding a 1A starter, two legitimate top six RD options and then filling out the support cast of their forward group. A trade like this would just make the Leafs that much deeper in those other areas.

 

[HockeyVirus]

How would trading for a 30-year-old proven starting goaltender to split starts with your current unproven 25-year-old suggest a re-tool?

The premise was adding Adam Boqvist, who addresses two weak areas that your roster had in the Boston series--transition and powerplay. And you'd be doing so at a significantly lower cost that paying the toll for a bigger name like Saros or Ullmark, who'd both tie up a tremendous amount of salary with their extensions.

Joe Woll has yet to start 30 games in a single regular season. Banking on that goalie to sustain his current quality of play over what's likely twice the amount of starts is essentially hopes and dreams level optimism.

The Leafs priorities this offseason are adding adding a 1A starter, two legitimate top six RD options and then filling out the support cast of their forward group. A trade like this would just make the Leafs that much deeper in those other areas.

Their priorities are absolutely those things, but if they can't fill a spot they are not just going to go do something that hinders them greatly going forward. If a starting goalie isn't available, you can't do anything about that. You can't take on a cap dump and hope he turns it around to say you did something.

Instead, stay flexibile and fill the other holes. Next offseason new names will be available and they will have the cap space to go big game hunting there and know more about Woll's potential

 

[belair]

That's a bit of a spin. He has one really good stretch early in the season and then saw his number slowly decline the rest of the way. There were only 2 months of the season where he was posting numbers above league average. Every other season he was below (or far below).

Every other season? There were a couple years prior to the Kivlenieks accident where he was a legitimate starting goaltender.

I think he's a reasonable gamble to rebound in a situation where he's given some rope.

 

[belair]

Their priorities are absolutely those things, but if they can't fill a spot they are not just going to go do something that hinders them greatly going forward. If a starting goalie isn't available, you can't do anything about that. You can't take on a cap dump and hope he turns it around to say you did something.

Instead, stay flexibile and fill the other holes. Next offseason new names will be available and they will have the cap space to go big game hunting there and know more about Woll's potential

How does it hinder them greatly? Are the Toronto Maple Leafs a worse team defensively than the Blue Jackets? Merzlikins is an NHL starting goaltender. He's shown it before behind teams that weren't tire fires. And his numbers this season are better than Samsonov's were prior to Toronto picking him up. He posted a 0.919 in his first season in Toronto.

The downside risk of taking on that contract is having to buy out the previous two years, which isn't awful if you look at the numbers. The likely outcome is Merzlikins being a reliable league average goalie that helps manage Joe Woll's workload and keeps his future cap number down. Either way, the Leafs would be getting Adam Boqvist.

 

[HockeyVirus]

How does it hinder them greatly? Are the Toronto Maple Leafs a worse team defensively than the Blue Jackets? Merzlikins is an NHL starting goaltender. He's shown it before behind teams that weren't tire fires. And his numbers this season are better than Samsonov's were prior to Toronto picking him up. He posted a 0.919 in his first season in Toronto.

The downside risk of taking on that contract is having to buy out the previous two years, which isn't awful if you look at the numbers. The likely outcome is Merzlikins being a reliable league average goalie that helps manage Joe Woll's workload and keeps his future cap number down. Either way, the Leafs would be getting Adam Boqvist.

Well for one there are rumors of having attitude issues and entitlement issues. I've read Jackets fans talking about him being a locker room cancer. Now add in that even if he was a slightly better Samsonov, that player at a 5.4 cap hit is roster crippling for our cap structure.

If the money was being allocated it would be for a sure thing. If a sure thing can't happen this year, they will save cap there and see if Woll is legit and re-evaluate at the TDL if needed. Doing this will let them sign 2 4-7M Dmen depending on what is out there

 

[Spawn]

He has played five NHL seasons, here are his numbers relative to league average save percentage.

League SV%	Elvis SV%
.910	.923	far above average
.908	.916	a bit above average
.907	.907	average
.904	.876	far below average
.903	.897	a bit below average

And you accuse me of spin?

Ah sorry, that was just me making a mistake. Should read every other month***

Apologies!

 

[member 74440]

Hockey fans are weird. Someone slapshots a empty netter and you gotta break his face but if a goalie has a huge contract that he doesn't live up to and his GM calls it out then we say he was a big meanie pants.

What the actual f***?

I understand what happened to Elvis was traumatic and terrible but at the end of the day hockey is a business and a sport. If Elvis needs more time to heal then he has many options that most do not. I'm over it.

 

[SteelCitySenator]

Did anybody actually watch the presser? I don't think Waddell dunked on Elvis quite like people think he did.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

If that doesn't motivate you to prove them wrong, then well, you aren't the sort of person a lot of teams will want.

Folks who take adversity and use it to fuel their fire to earn respect through performance are the sorts of people you want. Especially in a competitive sports environment. The ones who will let it get to them and go "woe is me" are the weaklings who call in sick when they have the slight sniffles or a minor headache.

Generally positive reinforcement works better than giving fuel. Calling your son a Pejorative Slur if he’s struggling with homework or your wife fat to get her to lose weight generally isn’t the most effective way for giving fuel and often does more damage

 

[Youngguns1380]

Generally positive reinforcement works better than giving fuel. Calling your son a Pejorative Slur if he’s struggling with homework or your wife fat to get her to lose weight generally isn’t the most effective way for giving fuel and often does more damage

Trust me positive reinforcement hasn’t worked.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

Trust me positive reinforcement hasn’t worked.

Obviously nuance is required and there is time for a firmer hand; I just don’t think publicly calling out your middling at best goalie (who got that contract from your team), who may be dealing with psychological baggage from the fireworks incident, when you are picking top 4 2 years in a row, is deserved. This ain’t calling out a superstar who has had a subpar playoff series and the way Waddell called him out rubs people the wrong way. Besides, it seems this type of discussion takes a bizarre political turn with culture war BS, and that’s crazy to me

 

[Youngguns1380]

Obviously nuance is required and there is time for a firmer hand; I just don’t think publicly calling out your middling at best goalie (who got that contract from your team), who may be dealing with psychological baggage from the fireworks incident, when you are picking top 4 2 years in a row, is deserved. This ain’t calling out a superstar who has had a subpar playoff series and the way Waddell called him out rubs people the wrong way. Besides, it seems this type of discussion takes a bizarre political turn with culture war BS, and that’s crazy to me

This isn’t an attempt at social rights and wrongs but about the individual. Obviously he was affected by the death of a friend and who wouldn’t, but a number of character flaws have been prevalent forever. There seems to be a disconnect inside the locker room, he is ouchy every other game and airs dirty laundry publicly. Then when he is asked to just do his job he goes ballistic on Tom Wilson in overtime and cost the team a win. He is benched and then pouts and asks for a trade and them says he didn’t.

So this is about being accountable and earning the monies he signed a contract to fulfill. He needs to know you want to leave play well, shut up and be a good teammate. Then you can be traded.