This may be hard to understand, but it’s true. The Columbus Blue Jackets can safely put their goaltending concerns to rest. This franchise is in good hands with Jet Greaves as part of a tandem playing in Central Ohio.
Unequivocally, he’s established himself as a full-time NHL goaltender this season. Through the team’s first 56 games, he played in 37 of them (35 starts), posting an 18-12-6 record.
Jet is a pretty quiet guy, so the best way to stack him up is to let the numbers speak for themselves. He has a .910% save percentage, 2.62 goals against average, and 2 shutouts on the season.
Signed as an undrafted free agent back in 2021, it’s safe to say he’s come out of nowhere. In his last junior season, he posted a .888% save percentage and only won 13 of 33 games. At just 6’0″, he doesn’t fit the preferred mold of an NHL goaltender. Tip of the cap to Jarmo Kekalainen and his scouting staff for finding this guy, because I’m not sure he gets this opportunity anywhere else.
This season, he has vastly outplayed Elvis Merzlikins, despite facing the same shortcomings from the team in front of him. Though, it is worth noting that both goaltenders have faced a much easier time since the team made a coaching change last month, with Elvis in particular looking like a much different player.
Still, it has been Jet Greaves that has continued to give this team stellar goaltending and a chance to win, in almost every start he’s made this season. At this moment, he is this team’s “1a” goaltender. The tandem he’s formed with Merzlikins looks like one capable of leading this team into a playoff run. It’s been a while since we could say that.
At the break, Jet is 6th in the league in goals saved above expected (14.7), per MoneyPuck. Every single name in front of him is considered an elite goaltender in the NHL. It’s time to start talking about Jet Greaves as an elite young goalie. There is no other way to spin it.
Now, with all of that said, this is in a fairly small sample size. Greaves has just 58 career NHL games under his belt. So, I don’t think he’s in a place where he is going to cash in on a contract that pays him like the other elite guys around the NHL.
More likely, I think a bridge deal makes a lot of sense for both sides here. Jet is a restricted free agent, meaning the Blue Jackets hold a lot of the weight in negotiations. They aren’t likely to throw a max term, high dollar offer in his lap at this point.
A reasonable extension would be something like 2 years, with a $4.5-$5.5 million AAV. This would give the team some stability in its crease, as they look to transition from Merzlikins and his big deal after next season. It would also give the player plenty of motivation to continue to show that he can be an elite goaltender in this league.
At that point, he will be ready to cash in with a big contract extension. And, it would open up options for the Blue Jackets, with (hopefully) some of their talented young draft picks being ready to prove themselves in the league.
The team will have the luxury of bringing those prospects along slowly, and that’s due to the unexpected emergence of young Jet Greaves. They will find a way to keep him around. The only question here is his contract. How long, and how much money?