Elvis Merzlikins has signed a new contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

I'm sure it will be fine and all, but this seems like a lot for a goalie with only 33 games played no? I know he was quite good but I compare this to the Kuemper contract and he was putting up good to great numbers for awhile before getting his deal.

thats a lot for an inexperienced goalie. reminds me of koskinen, although i think merzlikins will turn out much better

Bow down to the king.

I like Merzlikins, I thought this would come in around 2-2.5 mil tho. Seems a bit high for what could just be a fluke streak for all we know. Although I think the talent and drive is there. This could make resigning Dubois a bit tougher. I don't like that he is making 1.2 mil more than Korpi.

I think it should have been a 1 year deal but this is good still to be honest

Clearly CBJ thinks that Elvis is the new franchise starter. I would've preferred that they went long-term if they agreed on $4M as the base AAV, though. Still not a bad contract, however. It does buy out 1 UFA year, which does explain the somewhat elevated price tag for a 1st year RFA.

Only 2 years? I thought they would do a 3 year contract...

Almost the same as Binnington’s $4.4 for 2 years. Binnington took his team from last place to Stanley cup champion. So yeah idk do what you want with that info.

Both CBJ goalies are UFA in the same summer... GL

Korpisalo deserves more then him smh

They’ll probably move on from one by then, and judging by who got paid more, I’d say Elvis is gonna be the guy going forward. They’ve also got Tarasov overseas, so they’re deep at goalie, so maybe they trade Korpi to a team like Detroit that doesn’t have any notable goalie prospects...

No, he didn't.

and people think these two goalies split time

They paid a lot to keep Korpi as a back up.
Evlis meanwhile is cashing in.

Kivlenicks has played well, Veini is supposed to be good as well. CBJ can afford to move on from one of these in two years time when one of them asserts themselves for the starting role.

What does this mean for Jerry's contract? Same money?

Is this a forward-looking contract to try & keep SEA away from their goalies?
Maybe they are banking on a good 1A-1B advantage post-expansion when compared with some of their nearest competitors?

This means Matt Murray isn’t due for much of a raise, right? (Cries in Yinzer)

I know he was great this season, albeit in limited action, but how did he exercise such leverage? He was a pending RFA and I don't think he had arbitration rights(?).How'd he get the extra year? If Jarmo is that confident, why not lock him up long term? I really don't see the logic here and I consider Jarmo one of the top GM's in the game.

Binnington was about the same age and was simply incredible last season. He got a similar contract. I don't see a whole lot of upside w/ this Elvis deal. If he doesn't grab the #1 job and run with it, it'll be a massive screw-up. I don't love the risk/reward here.

I think people's opinions on Goalie contracts has become fascinating. This seems like a fair bridge deal to me. Yet, a majority of people think it bad?
What exactly is a good goalie contract expectation - outside of an ELC or one of those backup goalie in their 30s' putting a career year (as every goalie seems to do at some point in their career).
I don't think Elvis is a backup, so I don't think people who expected 2M per, are being realistic

I think because he has only 33 games of experience. 4mil for what is essentially an unproven netminder is a bit rough. I get your point though, looking at comments for multiple contracts around the league and nearly all of them garner unrealistic numbers from people here. Take Price and Karlsson for instance, they were both going to get top dollar, if not more from another team. Might be the same deal for Elvis as he does project to be a 1A starter in the league. It’s what it is, you just don’t usually see it for a player with such little experience.