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Since December last year, Merzlikin’s possible move to another club has been one of the most pressing topics on the NHL trade market.
Merzlikin was excluded from the bid for several games, which soon led to a public announcement that he wanted to be transferred to another team.
Now he has already returned to the Blue Jackets bench, and Russian ice hockey player Daniil Tarasov is taking his place in goal.
In a conversation with journalist Jason Gregor, the general manager of the Blue Jackets spoke about the rather chaotic situation that has developed around the Latvian goalkeeper.
“It’s funny. We initially needed a different scenario because he didn’t play and wasn’t happy about it. We also don’t want him to be happy about not playing,” said Kekalainen.
“Then information emerged that he wanted to be traded. Then he retracted such a statement and stated that he was happy. “He doesn’t want to be traded, he loves Columbus and was in goal for a few games,” said the general manager.
Although Tarasov has not been able to take full advantage of the opportunities he has been given so far, Kekalainen makes it clear that Merzlikin’s performance on the pitch and his actions off the pitch are not satisfactory.
“If you play as number one, work hard every day and are a good teammate, it’s not a problem. Everything is fine,” said Kekalainen.
“In my opinion, the best message for all of us, including management, in situations like this is to understand that perhaps it is time to look in the mirror and make changes,” the club manager added.
Merzlikin played 27 games this season, won eight, scored an average of 3.35 goals per game and saved 90.1% of the opponent’s shots.
With 40 points in 49 games, the “Blue Jackets” are in last or 16th place in the Eastern Conference.
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