The Blue Jackets are in the process of moving on from goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, and they've gone about it in a most peculiar way.
theathletic.com
3. It’s not about his play
Vincent has made it clear that Merzlikins’ demotion was not performance-related, that the Blue Jackets just really wanted to see how Tarasov would handle No. 1 duties. But that’s really only half the story.
This is personal.
The Blue Jackets have wanted Merzlikins to embrace all aspects of being a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL — the consistently high level of play, of course, but also being a reliable and steadying influence in the dressing room.
Nobody will speak publicly about this issue, but multiple sources have told The Athletic — not just this year, but over the last few years — that Merzlikins is a source of frustration for some players in the room. They’re not sure he’s ever going to embrace the franchise goaltender’s role entirely.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here: What if the people who have a problem with Elvis are really the ones with a problem? Elvis speaks his mind and tells the truth and sometimes the truth hurts. That can rub people the wrong way as it did with Torts but I'm willing to bet we've got a whole slew of bad attitudes on a sh*tty losing team. I sort of feel like it might be a bit wrong to pin this all completely on him but sometimes people don't want to look in the mirror.
This has been an issue with Merzlikins since DAY 1 when he hit the locker room. Crazy that anybody could think he isn’t the issue here still. You think it’s 2 groups involving different players over 5 or so years that are the issue?? HE obviously is the guy who can’t handle the truth, is borderline delusional at times, and is terribly “unprofessional” when looking at it in regards to pro sports.
Anybody want to put any weight behind those Gudbranson comments, yet? Or do people still think it’s about Larsen running drills??
I think I’d like to spend some time searching my posts from the past regarding Merzlikins and his relationship with his teammates. Pretty sure I’ve mentioned things plenty of times and been called out on it as a “hater”, as usual.
Things you could see on the ice regularly. Terrible body language from him directed towards his teammates, and they almost always returned with this same type disengagement with him, like they were always trying to not acknowledge him.
The language difference and his attitude or mindset is always looked at as an excuse, or somehow as a positive trait. It’s OK being confident, or even arrogant. The problem is you (the player) has to be a spectacularly skilled or a legitimately GREAT player for it to offset the negative aspects, or for your teammates to accept it or put up with it.
The problem is that Elvis is NOWHERE near that type of player/goalie. And he NEVER was. It was a literally unsustainable two week stretch of shutouts playing behind a super defensively focused team, that he and a group of fans have acted like was his regular performance or an actual “ceiling” for him to reach. Crazy that he ever got that contract and we’ve pissed away these years with him as our goalie.