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Our short-lived, regional nightmare is over. Elvis Merzlikins has signed a 2 year extension with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Some of the deets:
Elvis Merzlikins’ deal with #CBJ will pay him $3 million in 2020-21 and $5 million 2021-22. AAV of $4M.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 23, 2020
He’ll be an unrestricted free agent when this deal expires. Would have been a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer.
So if you’re keeping track at home...or have simply bookmarked the Joonas Korpisalo extension article, you’ll see that Elvis is making a not insignificantly higher amount of money than Korpi.
Does that mean anything at all? To me, it means he’s the starter. But, as I was reminded a short while ago...
When the season hit pause, Korpisalo was acknowledged as the starting goaltender.
— Alison (@AlisonL) April 23, 2020
So perhaps this is a way to get Elvis a nice head start on a lucrative long-term deal after he walks into unrestricted free agency. :)
Viva, Elvis. Viva.