Ðåêëàìà â Èíòåðíåò * Âñå Êóëè÷êè
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Ðåêëàìà â Èíòåðíåò * Âñå Êóëè÷êè |
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Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov must be better next season. 12 èþíÿ 2023 ãîäà. The Hockey News With the Jackets bringing in Niklas Bäckström to coach the goalies, will this be the fresh start that the Columbus goalies need? Its no secret, the goalies last season for the Columbus Blue Jackets were not good. Between injuries with the goalies, injuries with the defense, and the defensemen who were able to play, playing terrible, it just snow balled into a terrible season. Elvis Merzlikins had a tough year. Starting 27 games for the Blue Jackets, his record was 7-18-2. His GAA was 4.23 with a save % of .876. Brutal. Elvis seemed to be all over the place most nights. Most games, he made some highlight reel saves, and still lost. And then sometimes, he looked lost on the ice. It was a tough year, mentally and physically for him. Many hope he can finally move on from the tragic passing of his friend Matiss Kivlenieks. I personally know how hard that can be, having lost a best friend as well, but over time, it can be done. Everyone knows he has it in him to be a great goalie, but can he get to that form? Fans will point out that with his contract, a $5.4m cap hit per season, he has no choice but to be great. 2023-24 will be the second year of a 5 year $27m contract, and it needs to be a year in which he returns to form. His contract is virtually untradable, so the CBJ need to make this work. Daniil Tarasov last season was supposed to play in the AHL for the Cleveland Monsters. The front office was hoping to get him 55-60 starts, carry a heavy load, and get himself ready for the NHL. A few people I’ve talked to think he can be the goalie of the future for the Blue Jackets. He has the size and talent to be the #1 guy, but he must stay healthy. Tarasov was supposed to play approximately 55 games last season, he played in 28. Not ideal. He only managed to play 11 AHL games last season. Going 5-5 with a GAA of 3.85 and a save % of .882. His NHL numbers were nearly identical, minus his won-loss record. He went 4-11-1 with a GAA of 3.91 and a save % of .892. He also had a few different stints on the IR with both Columbus and Cleveland. Just an all-around terrible time for Daniil. Tarasov carries a much lower cap hit at $1.05m per season and is locked up until after the 2024-25 season. He’ll be RFA at that time. Assuming he can put it together, he should be re-signed I would imagine. Last season also saw Joonas Korpisalo traded at the trade deadline, to the LA Kings. A fan favorite, Korpi was by far and away the best goalie on the team. He finished his time in Columbus by playing in 28 games, going 11-11-3, with a GAA of 3.17 and a save % of .913. Proving how good he was, after he was traded to the Kings, who had much better defense and was a playoff team, he went 7-3-1 with an excellent GAA and save %. Jarmo had to trade him while he had value. A hockey move that was good for Korpi and the Blue Jackets. Korpisalo was able to get playoff experience, and the CBJ were able to secure a top 3 pick in the entry draft. What’s next? Niklas Bäckström seems to have been the one who will be hired as the next goalie coach for Columbus. Bäckström spent 9 full seasons with the Minnesota Wild putting up very good numbers in his career, it’s no wonder Wild fans love him. Bäckström has also been with the CBJ organization since 2019 as the Euro goalie coach, so I’m assuming he already knows Merzlikins and Tarasov. I know one things for certain, if they can’t get it together this season, it might make for another long year. GM Jarmo Kekäläinen has a lot of work to do, and some huge decisions to make in the goal crease. |
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