Every time Jet Greaves starts for the Columbus Blue Jackets, good things tend to happen.
Greaves, the AHL Goaltender of the Month for November, made his season debut for the Blue Jackets last Thursday against the first-place Metropolitan Division Washington Capitals.
He helped slow down an offense that was putting up 4.08 goals per game through 40 minutes until Aliaksei Protas scored the first of his two goals on the night. The first goal came 31 seconds into the third period. Then Protas scored the overtime game-winner at 2:23.
After a strong 35-save season debut in tonight's 2-1 OT loss, recent call-up Jet Greaves was asked if he knows where he'll be tomorrow. "We'll see. Hopefully here."
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) December 13, 2024
Dean Evason says that will be the case. Does he get to stay? "Yep. Sure does." #CBJ
The NHL sample size for Greaves is small but every opportunity he gets is yet another test he passes. His career record of 3-7-1 in 12 games over three seasons doesn't stand out but individual performances have.
The bulk of playing time at the NHL level for Greaves came last season under then-head coach Pascal Vincent.
In what was a forgettable season for anything positive on the ice, who can forget the chain reaction of bad things that would occur once things snowballed, leading to countless blown leads on what felt like a nightly basis?
Last year's team had a winning percentage of .692 (31st) when leading after two periods. A great goaltender would have struggled with that roster.
There were a few clunkers like allowing five goals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Mar. 5 — say no more — and six goals against the Nashville Predators on Apr. 13 — another foe who historically dominates Columbus.
| Date | OPP | GS | DEC | SA | GA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 14, 2024 | vs ANA | 1 | O | 27 | 4 | .852 |
| Dec. 12, 2024 | vs WSH | 1 | O | 37 | 2 | .946 |
| Apr. 16, 2024 | vs CAR | 1 | W | 41 | 3 | .927 |
| Apr. 13, 2024 | @ NSH | 1 | L | 37 | 6 | .838 |
| Apr. 11, 2024 | @ FLA | 1 | L | 46 | 4 | .913 |
| Apr. 9, 2024 | @ TBL | 1 | L | 32 | 4 | .875 |
| Apr. 6, 2024 | vs PHI | 1 | W | 39 | 2 | .949 |
| Apr. 4, 2024 | vs NYI | 0 | L | 25 | 1 | .960 |
| Mar. 5, 2024 | @ PIT | 1 | L | 31 | 5 | .839 |
| Dec. 10, 2023 | vs FLA | 1 | L | 33 | 3 | .909 |
| Dec. 8, 2023 | vs STL | 1 | W | 43 | 2 | .953 |
| Apr. 4, 2023 | @ TOR | 1 | L | 49 | 3 | .939 |
| Career | GP | GS | W | L | OT | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 11 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 3.35 | .911 |
So with Greaves on the roster, the Jackets have a goaltending triangle.
However, it doesn't seem like Elvis Merzlikins will ever live up to the contract extension former general manager Jarmo Kekalainen handed him before the 2021-22 season: A contract owing him $5.4 million per season through 2026-27.
Teams aren't lining up to take that salary.
Daniil Tarasov has not played since Dec. 5. He got on a second-half heater last year (.926 SV%, 2.71 GAA) from Feb. 1 through the end of his season, which ended prematurely due to injury.
Our Ed Francis asked head coach Dean Evason about the goaltending situation after Saturday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Ducks.
"Day by day, game by game we'll evaluate," Evason said. "Obviously, we don't want to have three goaltenders here but as we talked about here before, Jed deserves to be here."
Per MoneyPuck, Merzlikins has -6.5 goals saved above expected through 20 starts. Tarasov is -8.8 through nine starts.
The Jackets are 15th in the league in shots allowed per game (28.5) and last in the NHL with a .879 team save percentage.
The goalies have to be better. Greaves has played well in limited action. Let him roll.
