The 27-year-old goalie will play the final season of a two-year contract he signed April 23, 2020. He could have become an unrestricted free agent.
"Columbus is my home," Merzlikins said Wednesday. "I'm really happy that I'm still here with the team that choose me in the draft and the team who has believed in me and my game. The right decision is to stay because they choose me."
Merzlikins was 8-12-5 with a 2.77 goals-against average, .916 save percentage and two shutouts in 28 games (23 starts) last season.
"Goaltending is a position of strength for our team, and Elvis Merzlikins has been an important part of that over the past two seasons, so we are very excited to have agreed to terms on a contract extension that will keep him in Columbus for at least the next six years," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "He is big (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), athletic and has a tremendous passion for the game, and we believe he will be an integral part of our success in the coming years."
Merzlikins likely will continue to split time with Joonas Korpisalo, who was 9-13-7 with a 3.30 GAA and .894 save percentage in 33 games (31 starts) last season.
"We still have two good goalies," Kekalainen said. "Ice time will not be divided by the numbers on the contract. It will be divided based on their play."
Selected by Columbus in the third round (No. 76) of the 2014 NHL Draft, Merzlikins is 21-21-13 with a 2.54 GAA, .920 save percentage and seven shutouts in 61 games (54 starts).
Since making his NHL debut in 2019, he is tied for fourth in save percentage, tied for fifth in shutouts, and is 11th in goals-against average among goalies with at a minimum of 50 games played.
Merzlikins is 1-1 with a 1.96 GAA and .946 save percentage in two Stanley Cup Playoff games.
This offseason, Merzlikins was in attendance when teammate Matiss Kivlenieks died from a
fireworks accident on July 4
. They were in Novi, Michigan, for the holiday weekend to celebrate the wedding of Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace's daughter, Sabrina.
Merzlikins
named his son
Knox Matiss Merzlikins to pay tribute to Kivlenieks.
NHL.com independent correspondent Craig Merz contributed to this report
