Let me begin with a mea culpa. Before the season began, I predicted that having a goalie who would challenge him for the starter role (Jet Greaves) would cause Elvis to play better because of his tremendous ego. I was wrong. Somehow, Elvis is actually having his worst season ever in the NHL.
Elvis started the season strong and it seemed that having Jet and him swap starts was going to be a Jackets strength. But something happened and Elvis was winning, but mostly due to Jackets offensive explosions and when the offense started faltering, or simply couldn't score more goals than Elvis allowed, his struggles got worse. Jet, effectively, claimed the starter job. While he's had some difficulty, Jet has kept the Jackets in every game he's played since taking over the starting goalie job and that's exactly what coaches want from their #1 goalie. But that's exposed something even worse.
As inconsistent as Elvis has always been as a #1 goalie, he completely sucks as a backup goalie. When I learned that Elvis would play against Washington, Monday, I expected the Jackets to lose and I quit paying attention after Washington's second goal. I had no doubt the wheels would come off and I was proven correct.
The thing is, after watching so many games Elvis has played over the years, I don't understand why he's been so inconsistent and, lately, awful. He's got the size, athleticism and skill to be one of the top goalies in the league. Whatever is holding him back is between his ears. For all the (partially true) jokes about goalies being crazy, goalie is the most demanding position in hockey, both physically and mentally. You're the only player on the ice for the entire game. You have to be aware of where the puck and every single player on both teams is at all times. And you must be able to predict events in the defensive zone pretty accurately. I know that there were plenty of games where, afterwards, my brain was more exhausted than my body. Anyway, something between Elvis' ears is interfering with the mental aspect of his game and it's possible that he needs a change of scenery to fix his game. Therein lies the problem.
The entire league knows what they would get if they traded for Elvis. His $5.4 million AAV cap hit and actual salary of $4.25 million does not scream backup goalie. And his play, especially this season, does not even whisper #1 goalie. And there's another year on his contract. Elvis is not trade material. Not even as a throw in on a deal.
My concern is not Elvis, but the team. And what is best for the team is having someone else as Jet's backup or 1B. Fedotov would be an improvement. Yet, that means that the Jackets would have to carry three goalies or sending Elvis to Cleveland. Of course, trying to send Elvis to Cleveland means that he would have to clear waivers. Personally, I think his cap hit makes it highly unlikely that anyone would claim him, but there is that possibility. All of which means that there's no easy way out of the Jackets goalie situation and they risk overworking Jet.
