The New Jersey Devils could check in on a very available Elvis Merzlikins
Elvis Merzlikins may not even want to be a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets anymore. He is a decent NHL goaltender, but things haven't gone well in Columbus during his tenure there.
Right now, on that horrific team, he is 9-10-7. Honestly, it could be much worse. On an individual level, he has a 3.22 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage. He is about a league-average goalie with the potential to be even better on a good team.
Coming to the Devils could do wonders for his career. He is 29 years old (turns 30 in April) but it feels like he is just getting started. We've seen elite numbers when the Jackets were a good team in front of him (he was the 5th-place Vezina Trophy finisher in 2019-20).
Just like John Gibson, who has very similar numbers at about the same age, has three years left on his deal after this season. It is an investment worth considering based on how the New Jersey Devils have played this season. If any of these goalies came to their team right now, they'd be getting an automatic upgrade going forward. That could be the difference in this team making a deep playoff run and missing the playoffs entirely.