Is Elvis coming to Edmonton? Insiders reveal Oilers interest in Columbus Goalie

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Ryan Hall
December 1, 2023 (7:19 PM)

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With the NHL Christmas trade freeze inching closer in the coming weeks, teams are beginning to line up their needs in terms of improvements in the roster and looking for teams potentially wanting to sell.

It appears that the Columbus Blue Jackets have put a "for sale" sign in front of Nationwide Arena as they begin the process of selling off some of their assets.

Several teams have noticed that the Blue Jackets have surplus players in certain positions. One potential trading chip has the Oilers quite interested, and that happens to be in the goaltending position.

General manager Ken Holland has been scouring through the league trying to find a trade partner that will help him upgrade this position, as it's in dire need of a boost.

The Ottawa Senators are playing the Blue Jackets tonight, and it appears that three Edmonton scouts were on the past list again, who happened to be Warren Rychel, Jeff Salajko, and Ken Holland's son, Brad.

The Oilers' trade target appears to be Elvis Merzlikins. The 29-year-old has had an interesting career with the Columbus Blue Jackets that has now spanned five seasons. During that time, he spent most of his starts behind the former starter Joonas Korpisalo.

But with the Blue Jackets flailing and appearing to put up the white flag this season, Merzlikins has expressed a desire for a change of scenery, and this is echoed by his agent Jerry Johansson, who happens to be an Edmonton-based agent.

On 630 CHED, Bob Stauffer and thedailyfaceoff.com's Frank Seravalli confirm this, and Stauffer also explained that players on the Oilers have a lot of respect for Elvis.

It begs the question: would Elvis Merzlikins be a good fit for the Oilers?

When the Columbus Blue Jackets were a better team several years ago, he posted a 2.35 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage with five shutouts.

With the Oilers' firepower and the team buying into new coach Kris Knoblauch's system, which has seen a dramatic improvement in several key areas, including penalty killing and power play, having a steadier goaltender like Merzlikins would be beneficial for the Oilers.

It remains to be seen if the Oilers can make a deal with the Blue Jackets before the Christmas trade freeze begins, but it's certainly evident that they are looking intensely.