Since coming into the NHL in the 2019-20 season, Elvis Merzlikins has primarily regressed as an NHL player. He had a stellar rookie campaign and, once given the reins to the starts job, continually got worse as did the team around him. Merzlikins did have a small bounce-back last season but struggled in the final 2 months of the season, which hurt the Blue Jackets chances at making the playoffs.
Going into the 2025-26 season, GM Don Waddell made it clear that the goaltending needed to be better. He traded Daniil Tarasov to the Florida Panthers to make room for Jet Greaves.