Merzlikins Included in Major Trade Following Shoulder Surgery, Becomes Bluger's Teammate
NHL goaltender Elvis Merzlikins has been traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of a large deal built around forwards Kirill Marchenko and Matthew Knies.
Elvis Merzlikins, who underwent shoulder surgery in August and will be out for the first part of the season, has become part of a major NHL trade between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 32-year-old Latvian goaltender had spent his entire NHL career with Columbus since 2019, ranking second in franchise history with 108 wins — behind Sergei Bobrovsky's 213 but ahead of Steve Mason's 96 — and third in career shutouts for the club. He was added to the deal to help both teams meet NHL salary cap requirements.
Forward swap at the center of the deal
Columbus receives 23-year-old Matthew Knies, whose contract runs through 2032 and who posted 66 points, including 23 goals, in 79 games last season. Toronto adds 26-year-old Kirill Marchenko, who scored 27 goals and totaled 67 points in 76 games last season. Marchenko would have become a restricted free agent next summer and had already stated at the end of last season that he did not intend to re-sign with the Blue Jackets. For the trade to go through, he needed to agree on a new contract with the Maple Leafs: he will earn $3.85 million this season, after which a new six-year deal worth an average of $12.5 million annually takes effect.
Additional pieces and terms
The deal also includes forwards Miles Wood and Steven Lorentz, defenseman Emil Andrae, and a conditional 2027 second-round pick. Along with Knies, Lorentz, Andrae and the draft pick head to Columbus, while Toronto receives Wood in addition to Marchenko and Merzlikins. Columbus will retain 18 percent of Merzlikins' salary. In Toronto, Merzlikins will join Latvian center Teodors Bluger as a teammate; Bluger joined the club as a free agent over the summer.
