Player Discussion: The Elvis Thread

[MoeBartoli]

Lots of takes on Elvis I’m reading….heres mine. I want to see Elvis continue to play exceptional hockey, the type we are watching these last several days. Doing so will change the league’s perception of him which would be great because if that happens, Waddell can dangle him on the trade market and likely get some takers.

Why trade him if he gets back on a roll? Because I don’t trust him enough to be the team’s #1 goalie longer term because of his mercurial personality and play. So use a good run to maximize his value and move forward without the question mark always being there….Purely a business decision.

 

[OldGoaltender]

Maturation and good coaching can enhance and refine a goalie and his tools. Bob was Bob when he trusted his defense his ability. A good goalie knows he only good as his ability to stay in the moment.

 

[Monstershockey]

Not saying he wasn't at fault but the previous admnistration was just like "No. Bad Dog!" and smacked him of the nose with a news paper when things went wrong. It's still his actions but its also how it is handled.

The current management is taking a better approach to training the proper behavior. and rewarding good behavior. People seem to react better and differently to these approaches.

I've said this and felt this all along but I always had the impression Jarmo, Larsen and PV led with a fear mentality. "You do what I say or you won't play." In my mind that makes people afraid to make mistakes because of the fear of punishment even though they tried to be "player's coaches" and it didn't apply equally to the locker room.

Evason seems to come more from a building up mentality. I think he's been quoted understanding people will make mistakes and that's ok if we learn from them. Previous management would have chastised him and probably not let him play last night because he got angry after allowing a goal. So far Elvis seems to be learning and propering from the fresh start under this mentality. We'll see if it lasts.

Blame goes both ways on how a situation is handled and addressed and I like how there seems to be accountability coming from the coaching staff but they are actually teaching and empowering the players to succeed.

You clearly aren't a fan of him and have bad taste in your mouth from the past but I believe the new management is a fresh start and you see many players, not just Elvis, starting to prosper early on because of the mentality DW and the coaching staff approached the season with. The past is the past for me on this and I'm looking at now and the future just like they seem to be.

You make good points.

The way I look at it with the prevoius group was that they made the choice to make Elvis the number 1, and gave him a nice contract to go with it. I had no problem with that as I always wanted them to choose a guy because, in my opinion, I think it is better to have a clear 1 and 2 goalie. It didn't matter to me who they chose because I didn't feel there was a huge difference between him and Korpisalo. Just pick one and move on.

I get the Kivlenieks death played on him, but his first season after that was decent. Its just the last 2 weren't, and I think his act wore thin because more was expected for the money they gave him. They changed goalie coaches, and one of the first thing he did when there was early improvement, was throw the new coach under the bus.

All that, plus the attitude the front office was having came to a head when they started playing Tarasov over him. I can't believe they were happy on the return they were getting from his contract.

Maybe this regime can straighten him out, but even if they do, it may be too late contract wise. They could help him just in time for him to bolt when he becomes a free agent. I don't think Columbus will give him more money per year after how this contract worked out.

I may not be a fan of his, but I would rather see it work out for him here and see the team succeed. I don't know how much time you give him though. I kind of think if something materializes in a trade, the Jackets take it.

 

[majormajor]

I've said this and felt this all along but I always had the impression Jarmo, Larsen and PV led with a fear mentality. "You do what I say or you won't play." In my mind that makes people afraid to make mistakes because of the fear of punishment even though they tried to be "player's coaches" and it didn't apply equally to the locker room.

Larsen?

Those two years players were getting away with murder out there. All manner of lazy and selfish play.

We did react strongly in the other direction with the Babcock hire and PV playing bad cop. But the two prior years were very different.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Larsen?

Those two years players were getting away with murder out there. All manner of lazy and selfish play.

We did react strongly in the other direction with the Babcock hire and PV playing bad cop. But the two prior years were very different.

Larsen talked accountability. He just wasn’t very good at applying it and applying it equally to the locker room if I remember correctly. But you are correct that the players ultimately walked all over him.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Funny a stick slam is becoming a talking point. Carey Price is looked at as a calm and composed goalie and how many sticks did he snap in his career? Or is it competitive spirit when someone else does it?

The difference between Price and Elvis is that Price seldom got rattled. With Elvis and his reputation, I understand why DE had a conversation with him. As GMDW said prior to the season, the team was going to work with Elvis in every conceivable way and I'll put this conversation as part of that process.

In general, I like players throwing fits and breaking sticks. When Elvis punched Tom Wilson while he was in the net, I both enjoyed it and couldn't have cared less that it led to a PP and a loss. In general, however, Elvis needs to be more relaxed on the ice and displaying emotion after his shutout was lost could be taken in a negative manner by his teammates as being directed toward them.

 

[stevo61]

The difference between Price and Elvis is that Price seldom got rattled. With Elvis and his reputation, I understand why DE had a conversation with him. As GMDW said prior to the season, the team was going to work with Elvis in every conceivable way and I'll put this conversation as part of that process.

In general, I like players throwing fits and breaking sticks. When Elvis punched Tom Wilson while he was in the net, I both enjoyed it and couldn't have cared less that it led to a PP and a loss. In general, however, Elvis needs to be more relaxed on the ice and displaying emotion after his shutout was lost could be taken in a negative manner by his teammates as being directed toward them.

Could be viewed in a negative manner but showing displeasure at losing a shutout isn't much different than a skater slamming a stick or having a moment where he yells after missing a wide open net. It's obviously not impossible for teammates to grow tired of some antics and it's not impossible they understand how it would be annoying to lose a shutout after 58 minutes or whatever it was of solid hockey. As they say, a shutout is a team stat

 

[Long Live Lyle]

Lots of takes on Elvis I’m reading….heres mine. I want to see Elvis continue to play exceptional hockey, the type we are watching these last several days. Doing so will change the league’s perception of him which would be great because if that happens, Waddell can dangle him on the trade market and likely get some takers.

Why trade him if he gets back on a roll? Because I don’t trust him enough to be the team’s #1 goalie longer term because of his mercurial personality and play. So use a good run to maximize his value and move forward without the question mark always being there….Purely a business decision.

I’m biased as an Elvis fan, but I really don’t see the need to do this if he starts playing well, for three reasons:

1) The trade itself won’t likely net much, even if he gets on a roll. It’s just the normal overall trade market for goalies, particularly one that’s an average starter and 30 years old. So basically, you’d be trading him just to get rid of him (which wouldn’t really make sense if the team starts winning (also see #3) bc that would seem to indicate his “cancerous” days (whether real or not) are behind him) and/or to help with the cap (see #2).

2) This team is nowhere even close to the cap right now. And it should only continue to rise. Elvis’s deal “only” runs through 2026-27. And guys like Monahan, Marchenko, Johnson, Werenski are locked in at their price through that time. Jiricek, Fantilli, Chinakhov and Sillinger are locked in through 2025-26. So they’d need a new deal then, but Gudbranson’s off the books in 2026-27 and absolute worst case you could buyout only one year of Elvis before the 2026-27 season if things went wrong. But, again, we’re presuming they don’t.

3) Who besides Elvis in the short-term (this year) and medium-term (through 2026-27) currently in the organization would you trust more to be your #1? Tarasov? Jet? I wouldn’t, personally.

 

[NotCommitted]

You can trade a goalie for another goalie, just saying

 

[CannonFire1]

I'm very happy to see Elvis string together two quality wins (even if one was against the offensively challenged Islanders). I would love to see it continue. But I'm not going to hold my breath. There has been way too much stink from the last few years to cover it up with a shot of air freshener. If he can stay hot for an extended stretch, maybe I'll buy in. Until then, I'm chalking this up to small sample size. Having said that, I am thankful for the air freshener.

 

[majormajor]

Elvis has the talent to be a #1, I'm not in doubt of that. This might be the real corner.

He might still want and need a change of scenery for other reasons having to do with the loss of Matiss and how Elvis handled that over the last few years. And negativity with fans and teammates. We might be past all of that, we in the public don't have the information on that.

 

[NotWendell]

Have we considered that maybe we traded the guy(s) that didn't like Elvis?

 

[MoeBartoli]

I’m biased as an Elvis fan, but I really don’t see the need to do this if he starts playing well, for three reasons:

1) The trade itself won’t likely net much, even if he gets on a roll. It’s just the normal overall trade market for goalies, particularly one that’s an average starter and 30 years old. So basically, you’d be trading him just to get rid of him (which wouldn’t really make sense if the team starts winning (also see #3) bc that would seem to indicate his “cancerous” days (whether real or not) are behind him) and/or to help with the cap (see #2).

2) This team is nowhere even close to the cap right now. And it should only continue to rise. Elvis’s deal “only” runs through 2026-27. And guys like Monahan, Marchenko, Johnson, Werenski are locked in at their price through that time. Jiricek, Fantilli, Chinakhov and Sillinger are locked in through 2025-26. So they’d need a new deal then, but Gudbranson’s off the books in 2026-27 and absolute worst case you could buyout only one year of Elvis before the 2026-27 season if things went wrong. But, again, we’re presuming they don’t.

3) Who besides Elvis in the short-term (this year) and medium-term (through 2026-27) currently in the organization would you trust more to be your #1? Tarasov? Jet? I wouldn’t, personally.

I agree with your first point - trading him may not generate much. But I’m fine with that which leads to your second point - the CBJ isn’t close to the cap. They’re not, and it isn’t an issue until it is (a la Bjorkstrand scenario). I’d rather use the Elvis money to invest elsewhere and gain the flexibility to do so.

Your third point - a question - is a fair one but if goalies are easy to trade for because they cost little or a team has a pair and wants to move on from one, I’ll take that chance and pursue that route.

 

[CBJ goalie]

I've been an Elvis apologist, but even i was tiring of some of his antics, like the mysterious injuries.
Anyways, I'm a Blue Jackets fan first, so if he's playing well and they're winning- kudos!
At this point he's untradeable because of his contract and his stats.
If his game improves, his value goes up. At that point, they should just keep him unless another team gets desperate.
Let's just be happy this team is playing well and we're enjoying good hockey again.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Have we considered that maybe we traded the guy(s) that didn't like Elvis?

It's certainly a feasible option. Not everybody on the team needs to be best friends but if players have a problem with other players, that is not a one sided problem.

I feel like I may have said this before at one point but we all have co-workers we find annoying but we find a way to coexist with them in the workplace. If a player had a problem with Elvis, that may not exclusively be an Elvis problem.

 

[spintheblackcircle]

The teams salary cap situation needs to be taken into account as well. $5 million a year for the next 2 years is manageable if he's playing well for a team that has over $20 million in room next year.

 

[majormajor]

It's certainly a feasible option. Not everybody on the team needs to be best friends but if players have a problem with other players, that is not a one sided problem.

I feel like I may have said this before at one point but we all have co-workers we find annoying but we find a way to coexist with them in the workplace. If a player had a problem with Elvis, that may not exclusively be an Elvis problem.

I didn't want to comment any further on Elvis but I have to at least state my opinion that, no, I don't think it's remotely feasible that we simply traded away any dispute with Elvis. This was a broader thing in the room. And that they've decided to give another shot to working with Elvis because they were unable to find a trade partner. The players are trying to bring Elvis back in, to use Porty's phrase, and we have little reason to doubt the accuracy of that reporting.

 

[Iron Balls McGinty]

I didn't want to comment any further on Elvis but I have to at least state my opinion that, no, I don't think it's remotely feasible that we simply traded away any dispute with Elvis. This was a broader thing in the room. And that they've decided to give another shot to working with Elvis because they were unable to find a trade partner. The players are trying to bring Elvis back in, to use Porty's phrase, and we have little reason to doubt the accuracy of that reporting.

Not saying I think it actually happened or that anyone was actually traded because of it but frankly anyone on last years team was fair game to be traded for a multitude of reasons.

I was hoping to merely state if the thought process was that they were trying to trade Elvis because someone thought he was a jerk that its a plausible scenario the same consideration could be made for another player as well.

I still feel like the real grudge came from the front office (cough, Jarmo, cough) and not necessarily from within the players. I believe Jarmo was the guy who made the call to demote him to 3rd string last year even though he was the best playing goalie on the roster out of the 3 we had at the time and cause the whole media drama mid-season.

I think players can work through this stuff if they communicate like adults but upper management on a power trip can just make it worse.

 

[koteka]

What if the source of the Elvis conflict is {dramatic music} still on the team but injured and not in the locker room? {more dramatic music}

Porty promotes Porty. I believe pictures of Elvis hanging out with other guys over the years more than I believe Porty. Was there a conflict with management? dYes, but I can count several guys who had problems with a management.

Anyway, the discussion is pointless unless we have actual guys from the locker room participate. New management and a new coach seem to be exactly what this team needed. Elvis has played the best 6 quarters in a row that he has played in years. I am just going to be happy.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I believe pictures of Elvis hanging out with other guys over the years more than I believe Porty.

Oh but he was on the fringes of that Halloween IG pic, not in the middle, so I think that's telling. I think they're just suffering his presence, like the rest of us.

I mean, it's sarcasm, just in case.