New Maple Leafs goalie Elvis Merzlikins set to miss most of season

The Toronto Maple Leafs' acquisition of goaltender Elvis Merzlikins as part of the blockbuster Kirill Marchenko trade comes with a couple of caveats. 

First of all, the goalie is unlikely to even suit up for the Leafs—at least not for a long, long while. He's recovering from a serious shoulder injury and GM John Chayka told the media on Tuesday that Merzlikins will be out a total of four to six months (three to five more months from now). He's been placed on LTIR. 

Secondly, as noted by insider Pierre LeBrun, Merzlikins had to give his thumbs up to be dealt to Toronto. 

A little sidenote to the blockbuster trade from yesterday, Toronto was on Elvis Merzlikins' no-move list (10 teams) so he had to waive and certainly didn't hesitate in doing so. Merzlikins wants to rehab back in Switzerland over the coming months where he has a home. Sounds like…

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) September 29, 2026

The Leafs were on Merzlikins' 10-team no-trade list. But he had no problem waiving, as he wants to rehab back home in Switzerland over the coming months, and the Leafs didn't have an issue with it.

If he is able to make it back close to the trade deadline in March, if Toronto's tandem of Sergei Bobrovsky & Anthony Stolarz are healthy (yes, that's an 'if'), Merzlikins could either be a depth insurance option, or even become a trade piece for a team looking for a backup goalie for the stretch run. He is on an expiring contract, set to be an unrestricted free agent. His $5.4M cap hit, however, could be an issue.