Many attended the ceremony both in person as well as online for the late Kivlenieks, who passed away on July 4 after being struck by a firework. For those watching, one particularly memorable moment was when goaltending coach Manny Legace went up to the podium and gave a speech. While it was extremely heartfelt, he was able to include some humor as well, making a very funny joke at the expense of former Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella.
«Torts even flew in, and he hates goalies,» Legace said as goaltender Elvis Merzlikins burst into laughter behind him.
Kivlenieks had a great chance to crack the Blue Jackets roster out of camp next season as the team is looking to move one of either Merzlikins or Joonas Korpisalo. He had played in eight games during some brief time in the NHL, where he posted a 3.09 goals against average along with a .899 save percentage and a 2-2-2 record.
