Don Waddell , former president and general manager of the Carolina Hurricanes for the past 10 years and current president of hockey operations, general manager, and alternate governor of the Columbus Blue Jackets , casually dropped a bombshell report in a recent podcast with top hockey insider, Jeff Marek. He told Marek that he contacted then-Columbus general manager Jarmo Kekalainen a few years ago regarding an Elvis Merzlikins trade. Waddell also mentioned in this interview when he was GM in Carolina he worked on a deal with Jarmo Kekalainen that would have sent Elvis Merzlikins to the Hurricanes.
https://t.co/rlmcTGcJDo Waddell states the two sides progressed on a deal, but evidently, nothing got done, and now Waddell has taken Kekalainen’s job and Merzlikins remains a Blue Jacket. Considering both the Hurricanes and Merzlikins have not lived up to expectations in recent seasons, what would have been different had a trade gone through? What Could the Offer Have Been? It is important to note Waddell states this was “a few seasons” ago because Merzlikins has struggled a lot over the past three seasons.
After posting a 2.35 goals-against average (GAA) and .923 save percentage (SV%) in his rookie season and a 2.
77 GAA and .916 SV% the season after, Merzlikins has since struggled a lot. He was just 25 years old when he broke onto the scene in Columbus and looked to be a great predecessor to Sergei Bobrovsky.
However, due to poor defense, an overwhelming workload, inconsis.
