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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 2024-25. Pick one to see the two side by side, or choose someone else.

Dustin Wolf CGY · 53 GP, 0.910 Lukas Dostal ANA · 54 GP, 0.903 Sergei Bobrovsky FLA · 54 GP, 0.906 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF · 55 GP, 0.887 Kevin Lankinen VAN · 51 GP, 0.902

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

2024-25 season totals

GP Starts WLOTLSO Shots against Saves Goals against GAA Save %
53 52 262151 1557 1389 168 3.18 0.892

Contract

$5.4MCap hitends in 2027, then UFA
$2.119MCap dollars per goal above replacement2.5 goals above replacement
$1.3MWorth at the going ratewhat teams paid for a season like his
-$4.1MValueworth 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 61 ranked goalies whose contract is known. How value is worked out.

The contract

Signed by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sep 21, 2021, as an extension of the contract he was on: 5 years and $27M, beginning in 2022-23. It runs through 2026-27, with 2 seasons left after this one, and he is then an unrestricted free agent.

Season Cap hit Base salary Signing bonus Performance bonuses Paid in all Clause
2022-23 $5.4M $5.25M $0 $5.25M M-NTC
2023-24 $5.4M $6M $0 $6M M-NTC
2024-25 $5.4M $6M $0 $6M M-NTC
2025-26 $5.4M $5.525M $0 $5.525M M-NTC
2026-27 $5.4M $4.225M $0 $4.225M M-NTC

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 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 2024-25 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.

2024-25 analytics

Rating

+2.5Goals above replacement43rd of 61 goalies
+0.4Wins above replacementgoals above replacement divided by six
-13.2Goals above averagehis goals saved above expected

Each number is coloured by where it ranks among the 61 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.

-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. What these numbers mean

-13.2Goals saved above expectedexpected goals minus goals against
154.8Expected goals againstfrom 2,331 unblocked attempts
168Goals againstwhile he was in net
0.892Save %0.901 expected from his shots

Goals saved above expected, taken per 60 minutes, and save % are coloured by where they rank among the 62 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 -0.25 above expected per 60 minutes24th
Shot difficulty 6.6% chance per attempt faced55thA higher bar means his team gives up more dangerous shots.

Each bar shows the share of goalies he is ahead of, among the 62 who played at least a quarter as much as the busiest this season.

050100150Game 10Game 20Game 30Game 40Game 50Allowed 168Expected 154.8

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
Apr 8, 2025 vs OTT W 5-2 W 35 33 2 0.943 59:39
Apr 6, 2025 @ OTT L 0-4 23 22 1 0.957 53:05
Apr 5, 2025 @ TOR L 0-5 L 27 22 5 0.815 60:00
Apr 3, 2025 vs COL L 3-7 L 28 21 7 0.750 45:49
Apr 1, 2025 vs NSH W 8-4 W 28 24 4 0.857 59:38
Mar 28, 2025 vs VAN W 7-6 (SO) W 37 31 6 0.838 65:00
Mar 24, 2025 @ NYI W 4-3 (SO) W 33 30 3 0.909 65:00
Mar 21, 2025 @ PIT L 3-6 L 33 28 5 0.848 58:19
Mar 20, 2025 vs FLA L 0-1 (OT) OTL 29 28 1 0.966 60:29
Mar 13, 2025 vs VGK L 0-4 L 28 25 3 0.893 59:35
Mar 11, 2025 @ NJD L 3-5 L 28 23 5 0.821 59:09
Mar 6, 2025 @ FLA L 0-3 L 35 33 2 0.943 59:51
Mar 4, 2025 @ TBL L 2-6 L 39 34 5 0.872 57:10
Mar 1, 2025 vs DET W 5-3 W 46 43 3 0.935 60:00
Feb 25, 2025 vs DAL W 6-4 W 22 18 4 0.818 60:00
Feb 22, 2025 vs CHI W 5-1 W 28 27 1 0.964 60:00
Feb 8, 2025 vs NYR L 3-4 L 40 36 4 0.900 58:37
Feb 6, 2025 vs UTA L 2-3 (OT) OTL 33 30 3 0.909 64:27
Feb 4, 2025 @ BUF L 2-3 L 21 18 3 0.857 57:26
Feb 2, 2025 @ DAL L 3-5 L 39 34 5 0.872 57:00
Jan 30, 2025 @ VGK W 2-1 (OT) W 26 25 1 0.962 60:52
Jan 25, 2025 vs LAK W 3-2 (OT) W 33 31 2 0.939 63:20
Jan 22, 2025 @ TOR W 5-1 W 29 28 1 0.966 60:00
Jan 20, 2025 @ NYI L 1-3 L 25 22 3 0.880 56:41
Jan 16, 2025 vs SJS W 4-1 W 19 18 1 0.947 60:00
Jan 9, 2025 vs SEA W 6-2 W 31 29 2 0.935 60:00
Jan 7, 2025 @ PIT W 4-3 (SO) W 23 20 3 0.870 64:55
Jan 4, 2025 vs STL W 6-4 W 33 29 4 0.879 59:48
Jan 2, 2025 vs DET L 4-5 L 26 21 5 0.808 59:26
Dec 31, 2024 vs CAR W 4-3 (SO) W 35 32 3 0.914 64:48
Dec 27, 2024 vs BOS W 6-2 W 26 24 2 0.923 59:55
Dec 21, 2024 @ PHI L 4-5 (OT) OTL 30 25 5 0.833 63:30
Dec 19, 2024 vs NJD W 4-2 W 42 40 2 0.952 60:00
Dec 15, 2024 @ CAR L 1-4 L 28 24 4 0.857 60:00
Dec 10, 2024 vs PHI L 3-5 L 25 20 5 0.800 60:00
Dec 8, 2024 @ WPG W 4-1 W 25 24 1 0.960 60:00
Dec 6, 2024 @ VAN L 2-5 L 16 12 4 0.750 58:43
Dec 3, 2024 @ CGY L 0-3 L 21 19 2 0.905 58:56
Dec 1, 2024 @ CHI W 6-3 W 31 28 3 0.903 60:00
Nov 29, 2024 vs CGY W 5-2 W 29 27 2 0.931 60:00
Nov 27, 2024 vs MTL L 3-4 (OT) OTL 23 19 4 0.826 59:16
Nov 23, 2024 vs CAR W 5-4 (SO) W 36 32 4 0.889 64:32
Nov 21, 2024 vs TBL W 7-6 (OT) W 30 24 6 0.800 61:26
Nov 18, 2024 @ BOS W 5-1 W 29 28 1 0.966 60:00
Nov 15, 2024 vs PIT W 6-2 W 23 21 2 0.913 59:45
Nov 12, 2024 @ SEA L 2-5 L 32 28 4 0.875 59:31
Nov 9, 2024 @ LAK L 2-5 L 22 18 4 0.818 58:36
Nov 5, 2024 @ SJS L 1-2 (OT) OTL 27 25 2 0.926 62:51
Nov 1, 2024 vs WPG L 2-6 L 44 38 6 0.864 59:38
Oct 30, 2024 vs NYI W 2-0 W, SO 26 26 0 1.000 60:00
Oct 28, 2024 vs EDM W 6-1 W 32 31 1 0.969 60:00
Oct 15, 2024 vs FLA L 3-4 L 22 18 4 0.818 55:34
Oct 10, 2024 @ MIN L 2-3 L 26 23 3 0.885 58:38