Columbus Blue Jackets News: Elvis Merzlikins Unavailable for Personal Reasons

The Columbus Blue Jackets will be without goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, as he's unavailable for personal reasons.

According to Aaron Portzline of The Athletic, the Blue Jackets recalled goaltender Jet Greaves from the American Hockey League's Cleveland Monsters, who will now tandem with Daniil Tarasov in the Blue Jacket's crease.

#CBJ recalled G Jet Greaves from AHL because Elvis Merzlikins is temporarily unavailable for personal reasons, club says.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) March 14, 2025

Merzlikins has appeared in 44 games this season, posting a 22-18-4 record, along with a 3.014 goals against average and .896 save percentage. He last played Thursday night in a 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, when he stopped 25 of 28 shots.

Merzlikins practiced on Friday, but then was deemed unavailable moving forward due to personal reasons. Greaves makes his way to the big club after playing 34 games with Cleveland this season. In the AHL, he boasts a .915 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average and the 23-year-old has also played five NHL games this season, with two wins on his record.

Greaves will likely backup Tarasov moving forward, who has registered a .899 save percentage in 61 career NHL games. The Blue Jackets sit tied for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with the New York Rangers and have one game in hand.

Elvis Merzlikins got pushed into the net and wants everyone to know that he FELT IT between the cheeks 😭

(🎥 via @971thefan) pic.twitter.com/sCC5AKPd1y
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 23, 2025