Columbus Blue Jackets ‘Jet’ past Buffalo Sabres to avoid elimination
Blue Jackets avoid playoff elimination by riding rookie Jet Greaves’ 39-save fill-in performance in 3-2 comeback win over Sabres.
Dean Evason opened his press conference Friday by explaining a comment he had made Thursday following the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
By answering a question about why goalie Jet Greaves hadn’t been recalled earlier than Thursday by saying, “That’s a Don Waddell question,” Evason said he wasn’t calling out the Blue Jackets’ president of hockey operations/general manager — and his boss — for keeping the talented rookie with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters while the NHL team stumbled out of a playoff position.
Greaves made 39 saves against the Sabres during his latest emergency recall from Cleveland, helping the Blue Jackets avoid playoff elimination on a day that top goalie Elvis Merzlikins was ruled out with an undisclosed injury.
“I knew as soon as I said it last night it was going to create a storm, and I just want to clarify … that Don Waddell and I are 100% on the same page,” Evason said. “We communicate about everything. We communicate about everything.”
Evason’s initial comment, which he didn’t expand upon, created a situation that left open the possibility of friction between the Blue Jackets’ first-year head coach and first-year head of hockey operations/GM over the organizational depth chart.
Greaves has played only seven NHL games this season, going 3-2-2, but he’s got the lowest goals-against average (2.71) and highest save percentage (.914) of the Blue Jackets’ top three goalies — which includes Merzlikins and backup Daniil Tarasov.
Greaves has posted a blistering .949 save percentage in the AHL since Feb. 15, while Merzlikins and Tarasov have each dealt with stretches of inconsistency this season. Merzlikins had a lengthy stretch of success for the Blue Jackets that culminated in a dazzling performance in a memorable 5-3 outdoor victory over the Detroit Red Wings on March 1, but he’s gone just 4-7-1 with a 3.85 GAA and .878 save percentage since.
The Blue Jackets also dropped out of a playoff spot after holding the first of two wild cards in the Eastern Conference following their outdoor victory against Detroit. They’re now on the brink of elimination trailing the Montreal Canadiens by six points for the second wild card with four games left, sparking a hypothetical question among media and fans about whether they should have called upon Greaves sooner.
Evason said that wasn’t an ongoing debate between his coaching staff, Waddell’s front office staff and the Monsters’ coaching staff. Greaves was recalled Thursday only due to Merzlikins’ injury.
“There is not one point in this season where I’ve asked for a guy to get called up and (Waddell) said, ‘No,’ ” Evason said. “There’s not one point in this season where he’s said to me, ‘We’re going to call a guy up,’ and I’ve said, ‘No.’ ”
Evason said he knew almost instantly that his answer about Greaves after the game would stir up questions about friction between himself and Waddell, which he relayed to the Jackets’ GM after his postgame press conference concluded.
“The reason I said it was, at this point, I’m not talking about a call-up or a possible call-up two months ago, right after a game,” Evason said. “But as soon as I went back (to the coaches’ office), Don was in there and I said, ‘I’ve just got to tell you what I said,’ and I felt it right away, because it would be speculated that … I wanted somebody, he didn’t want somebody, or he wouldn’t let me call somebody (up). That’s never the case. Don and I are 100% on the same page.”
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social