Elvis may be about to leave the building.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins agreed to find "a new scenario" for the goaltender, he told The Athletic's Aaron Portzline on Friday. However, Merzlikins clarified he hasn't formally asked for a trade.

"I love Columbus. I love these guys. I grew up here," he said, adding, "(but) I'm not a backup goaltender."

"I just want to be treated as No. 1, I believe that I am No. 1," Merzlikins added. "It didn't (get) to that point where I'm requesting (a trade). It went to the point that both sides agreed."

Merzlikins said he'll give his best if he's called upon because he's "dead serious" that the Blue Jackets are his "family." But the veteran netminder isn't content to be relegated to the bench.

"I want to play," he said. "I'm not going to be No. 3, I can assure you that. Especially (given) the hard work I did this summer, mentally and physically. I just want to play my game and keep having fun like I had."

Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent said Merzlikins will back up Daniil Tarasov against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, according to Portzline. Vincent replied, "That's above my paygrade," when asked about the situation.

The Latvian goalie hasn't played since Dec. 29 when he was pulled after allowing two goals to the Toronto Maple Leafs on 14 shots in a game the Blue Jackets ultimately won in overtime with Spencer Martin in the crease.

Tarasov has started Columbus' last three games and four of the last five. He's 2-3-2 with an .883 save percentage in seven games since making his season debut with the club on Dec. 16.

Merzlikins, who'll turn 30 in April, has spent his whole five-year career with the Blue Jackets, who drafted him 76th overall in 2014. He ranks fifth in franchise history in games played, wins, and losses.

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Macklin Celebrini unsurprisingly sits No. 1 among North American skaters in NHL Central Scouting's midseason rankings.

Celebrini, the projected first overall pick in June's NHL Draft, is fresh off representing Canada at the world juniors. The Boston University standout collected four goals and four assists over five games despite his country's fifth-place finish.

In his freshman season with the Terriers, Celebrini has been dominant from a point production standpoint. The 17-year-old - who'll turn 18 about two weeks before the June draft - has 11 goals and 16 assists across 16 NCAA contests.

Here are the top 10 North American skaters:

Konsta Helenius leads the way among European skaters. The 17-year-old - who turns 18 in May - has notched eight goals and 12 assists in 29 games with Jukurit in Finland's Liiga this season. He has the most points by an under-19 player in the league in 2023-24 and the second-most by a teenager.

Here are the top 10 European skaters:

Carter George of the OHL's Owen Sound Attack is the top-ranked North American goaltender, and Kim Saarinen of HPK's junior squad in Finland tops the list of international netminders.

The NHL Draft is scheduled for June 28 and 29 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.

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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe didn't hold back when assessing his team's performance in situations other than even strength during an overtime loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.

"(We) had a pretty significant advantage in the scoring chances at five-on-five, but (our) special teams were rotten tonight," Keefe said postgame.

"(The) power play had one chance and did nothing with it. It's as bad as we've looked in any power play," the bench boss added. "And then (on the) penalty kill, it's in our net before we can even blink to start the game. Second period, first we take a penalty, the careless high stick with control of the game. Those are the kinds of mistakes that cost you games, that cost you points."

The Islanders converted two of their three opportunities with the man advantage. Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring 40 seconds into the contest and Bo Horvat tied it with 6:09 to go in the third period. Mathew Barzal won it 21 seconds into the overtime session after assisting on each of New York's first three goals.

Toronto boasts the NHL's sixth-best power play, with a 26.7% success rate. However, the club's penalty kill ranks 24th at 76.8%. The Maple Leafs are 4-0-1 since the calendar flipped to 2024, but their penalty kill ranks 28th in that span at 66.7% as they've allowed three goals in nine of those situations.

The Leafs occupy third place in the Atlantic Division at 21-10-8. They're seven and six points behind the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, respectively, but they've played two fewer games.

The Islanders improved to 19-12-10 with their victory. They're tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for third in the Metropolitan Division both in terms of points (48) and points percentage (.585).

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Ottawa Senators goaltender Anton Forsberg had to be helped off the ice after making a save during the first period of Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

He was ruled out for the night due to a groin injury, and head coach Jacques Martin told TSN 1200 the goaltender will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the severity.

Joonas Korpisalo entered the game in relief and allowed two goals on three shots before the first intermission, and finished the night with 21 saves.

Forsberg sustained MCL tears in both knees last February, forcing him to miss much of the 2022-23 season.

The 31-year-old entered Thursday's game with a 7-8-1 record and an .889 save percentage. This is his fourth season with the Senators after stints with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Chicago Blackhawks, and Carolina Hurricanes.

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The Winnipeg Jets scored two goals in the dying minutes of regulation to defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 and set a new franchise record with eight consecutive victories.

Gabriel Vilardi tied it up with 3:29 to play before Nikolaj Ehlers delivered the winner with a lethal wrister off the rush.

The Jets had a seven-game winning streak in 2016-17 and have gone on three six-game runs dating back to their days as the Atlanta Thrashers.

Winnipeg has won nine of its past 10 games overall and is riding a remarkable 31-game streak of allowing three goals or fewer. Over that span, which began Nov. 4, Rick Bowness' crew is 24-5-2 with a plus-49 goal differential.

The Jets' run has propelled them to first place in the league standings with 60 points (28-9-4) at the halfway point of their schedule. They're tied for the NHL lead with 26 regulation wins and have built a three-point cushion in the Central Division.

Thursday's win did come with one concern, though, as star forward Mark Scheifele left the contest with a lower-body injury early in the second period and was unable to return. Bowness said Scheifele will be re-evaluated on Friday.

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Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov exited Thursday's 6-3 win against the Anaheim Ducks with an upper-body injury, head coach Rod Brind'Amour said after the game.

Kochetkov was ruled out after a hard collision with Ducks forward Isac Lundestrom.

Kochetkov had stopped 11 of 14 shots prior to the injury.

The 24-year-old had played 22 games before Thursday's contest, sporting an 11-7-3 record with a .903 save percentage. Kochetkov has been superb as of late, going 7-1-2 with a .931 SV% in his last 10 starts.

Antti Raanta, who relieved Kochetkov versus Anaheim, was placed on waivers earlier this season amid significant struggles. The veteran netminder had a .861 SV% coming into Thursday and stopped all four shots he faced in relief.

Frederik Andersen remains sidelined indefinitely with a blood clotting issue.

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Winnipeg Jets star Mark Scheifele sustained a lower-body injury Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks and won't return, the team announced.

Scheifele logged 7:41 in the contest and played one shift in the second period before exiting.

The 30-year-old entered the game leading the first-place Jets with 41 points in 40 games this season.

Winnipeg is currently riding a seven-game win streak and has won nine of its past 10 games.

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