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Elvis Merzlikins

#90 · Goalie · Toronto Maple Leafs

Born Apr 13, 1994 in Riga, LVA (age 32) · 6'3", 190 lb · Catches left · Drafted 76th overall in 2014 by CBJ (round 3)

Compare with a similar player

The goalies closest to him in games played in 2019-20. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Aaron Dell SJS · 33 GP, 0.907 Antti Raanta ARI · 33 GP, 0.921 Tristan Jarry PIT · 33 GP, 0.921 Brian Elliott PHI · 31 GP, 0.899 Carter Hutton BUF · 31 GP, 0.898

Career

Regular season games only. Pick a season to see its game log below. Cap hit is what he counted against the salary cap that season, where it is known.

020402019-20: 32 games3219-202020-21: 28 games2820-212021-22: 59 games5921-222022-23: 30 games3022-232023-24: 41 games4123-242024-25: 53 games5324-252025-26: 30 games3025-26

Games played by season. The darker bar is the season shown below.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save % Cap hit
2019-20 CBJ 32 13975 919 848 71 2.35 0.923 $874K
2020-21 CBJ 28 81252 825 756 69 2.77 0.916 $4M
2021-22 CBJ 59 272372 1920 1742 178 3.22 0.907 $4M
2022-23 CBJ 30 71820 889 779 110 4.23 0.876 $5.4M
2023-24 CBJ 41 131781 1266 1136 130 3.45 0.897 $5.4M
2024-25 CBJ 53 262151 1557 1389 168 3.18 0.892 $5.4M
2025-26 CBJ 30 141131 812 717 95 3.40 0.883 $5.4M
7 seasons Career 273 1081113712 8188 7367 821 3.22 0.900

Playoffs

Playoff games only. Pick a season to see that year's bracket.

Season Team GP WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
2019-20 CBJ 2 1100 74 70 4 1.96 0.946
1 season Playoffs 2 1100 74 70 4 1.96 0.946

2019-20 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
32 31 13975 919 848 71 2.35 0.923

Contract

$874KCap hitends in 2020, then extended to 2022
$71KCap dollars per goal above replacement12.4 goals above replacement
$3.9MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
+$3.1MValueworth minus cap hit; below zero is overpaid

His cap hit for the whole season, set against what he did in the regular season. Lower is better value. In a season still being played the cost per point starts high and falls as the games add up. Value is coloured by where it ranks among the 57 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on May 15, 2019, as an extension of the contract he was on: 1 year and $874K, beginning in 2019-20. It runs through 2019-20, so this is its last season, and his extension takes over. His next contract is already signed: an extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Apr 23, 2020, 2 years and $8M at $4M a season, beginning in 2020-21.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2019-20 $874K $874K $0 $874K

Each season of the contract, with this one marked. The cap hit is the same every year; what he is paid is not. The pay is as written when the contract was recorded in October 2024, so a later change, such as the rise in the lowest salary for 2026-27, is not shown.

Contracts he has signed

Signed Signed by Kind Seasons Years In all Cap hit
Sep 21, 2021 Columbus Blue Jackets Extension 2022-23 to 2026-27 5 $27M $5.4M
Apr 23, 2020 Columbus Blue Jackets Extension not begun 2020-21 to 2021-22 2 $8M $4M
May 15, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets Extension 2019-20 to 2019-20 1 $874K $874K
Mar 20, 2019 Columbus Blue Jackets Entry-level 2018-19 to 2018-19 1 $925K $1.845M

Every contract on record for him, newest first, with the team that signed him to it and the day it was signed. The one covering 2019-20 is marked. An extension is signed while the contract before it is still running, often a year ahead. A row with no team or date is a contract known only by its cap hit, most often one signed since October 2024.

2019-20 analytics

Regular season Playoffs

Rating

+12.4Goals above replacement26th of 57 goalies
+2.1Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
+4.7Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 57 ranked goalies: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. Goals above average is coloured as it is under Shots faced below, where it is taken per 60 minutes.

The goals he saved for his team, compared with a spare-part goalie facing the same shots. A goalie's season is about one-third the goalie and two-thirds chance, so read one year lightly. Provisional: under 40 games it is more chance than player. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones.

-20-10010202019-202020-212021-222022-232023-242024-252025-26Goals above replacementGoals above replacement, by season

Shots faced

Expected goals adds up how likely each shot he faced was to go in, judged by where it came from, what kind of shot it was and whether it was a rebound. A goalie who lets in fewer than that has saved goals above expected. Only shots taken while he was in net count, and the league's goalies as a whole come out at zero. Before 2023-24 the NHL timed events less exactly, and differently from rink to rink, so expected goals for this season are rougher than for recent ones. What these numbers mean

+4.7Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
75.7Expected goals againstfrom 1,272 unblocked attempts
71Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.923Save %0.918 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 59 goalies who played enough to be ranked: green is in the top fifth and red the bottom fifth, with paler shades in between and amber for the middle. Hover over a tile for its percentile. The two goals against tiles are left plain, since they follow how much he played.

Goals saved +0.15 above expected per 60 minutes68th
Shot difficulty 5.9% chance per attempt faced2ndA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 59 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

0204060Game 10Game 20Game 30Expected 75.7Allowed 71

The goals he was expected to let in and the goals he did, as the season went on. When the allowed line runs below the expected line, he is saving more than his shots were worth.

Where he was shot at

Every unblocked attempt he faced this season, with his net on the right. Darker red means more attempts from that spot, and each dot is a goal. "Show every shot" switches to a dot for each attempt, bigger for a better chance. Click a goal for its details.

Game log

Date Opponent Result Decision Shots against Saves Goals against Save % TOI
Mar 8, 2020 @ VAN W 2-1 W 27 26 1 0.963 60:00
Feb 24, 2020 vs OTT W 4-3 (OT) 18 16 2 0.889 31:16
Feb 22, 2020 @ NSH L 3-4 (SO) OTL 36 33 3 0.917 65:00
Feb 20, 2020 vs PHI L 3-4 (OT) OTL 33 29 4 0.879 63:51
Feb 18, 2020 @ PHI L 1-5 L 12 8 4 0.667 43:40
Feb 16, 2020 @ NJD L 3-4 (SO) OTL 26 23 3 0.885 65:00
Feb 14, 2020 vs NYR L 1-3 L 27 25 2 0.926 58:35
Feb 10, 2020 vs TBL L 1-2 (OT) OTL 30 28 2 0.933 60:31
Feb 8, 2020 vs COL L 1-2 L 22 20 2 0.909 57:43
Feb 7, 2020 vs DET W 2-0 W, SO 16 16 0 1.000 58:33
Feb 4, 2020 vs FLA W 1-0 (OT) W, SO 32 32 0 1.000 61:54
Feb 2, 2020 @ MTL W 4-3 W 30 27 3 0.900 60:00
Jan 22, 2020 vs WPG W 4-3 W 30 27 3 0.900 59:35
Jan 18, 2020 vs NJD W 5-0 W, SO 41 41 0 1.000 60:00
Jan 16, 2020 vs CAR W 3-2 W 34 32 2 0.941 59:57
Jan 14, 2020 vs BOS W 3-0 W, SO 34 34 0 1.000 59:54
Jan 11, 2020 @ VGK W 3-0 W, SO 27 27 0 1.000 59:55
Jan 9, 2020 @ SJS L 1-3 L 33 30 3 0.909 56:30
Jan 7, 2020 @ ANA W 4-3 W 40 37 3 0.925 60:00
Jan 6, 2020 @ LAK W 4-2 W 37 35 2 0.946 60:00
Jan 4, 2020 vs SJS L 2-3 L 28 25 3 0.893 57:32
Jan 2, 2020 @ BOS W 2-1 (OT) W 26 25 1 0.962 60:52
Dec 31, 2019 vs FLA W 4-1 W 37 36 1 0.973 60:00
Dec 14, 2019 @ OTT L 3-4 (OT) 8 6 2 0.750 20:00
Dec 7, 2019 @ FLA L 1-4 L 26 23 3 0.885 59:30
Nov 30, 2019 @ NYI L 0-2 L 27 25 2 0.926 56:37
Nov 23, 2019 @ WPG L 3-4 L 31 27 4 0.871 58:19
Nov 12, 2019 @ MTL L 2-3 (SO) OTL 32 30 2 0.938 65:00
Nov 1, 2019 @ STL L 3-4 (OT) OTL 27 23 4 0.852 60:08
Oct 30, 2019 vs EDM L 1-4 19 19 0 1.000 35:04
Oct 18, 2019 @ CHI L 2-3 (OT) OTL 33 30 3 0.909 60:12
Oct 5, 2019 @ PIT L 2-7 L 40 33 7 0.825 60:00