The Blue Jackets reached a late 11th-hour deal with RFA goaltender Jet Greaves this morning, signing him to a three year contract extension that carries a $5 million dollar AAV. Elliotte Friedman was first to break the news:
Columbus and Jet Greaves have a settlement.Â
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 23, 2026
3 X $5M
After negotiations had stalled out, the Blue Jackets and Greaves were set to head into an arbitration hearing at 9:00 this morning. That would have taken the process out of their hands, ultimately resulting in a one year contract at whatever value the arbitrator decided to award.
Instead, the Jackets come out of this looking pretty darn good. They get their starting goaltender locked up for three seasons at a very reasonable cap hit. Meanwhile, Greaves gets a massive raise over his previous contract, which paid him just over $800k last season.
As if there were ever any doubt.
We were starting to get pretty concerned as the clock wound towards 9:00 Eastern Time. The Blue Jackets have never had a player make it into an arbitration hearing before, a streak that now continues with Greaves putting pen to paper.
The concern was never about losing the player. It was about him having a sour taste in his mouth and a one year contract in hand, leaving the team with an unsettled situation after next season. That would have left big question marks for a franchise that needs to re-sign some very important pieces this summer and next.
Even though it took until the final bell, this is exciting news for the Blue Jackets. Greaves showed that he can handle a full-time workload in the NHL last season, finishing amongst the most elite goaltenders in the game.
By signing a short-ish three year contract, he opens up the opportunity to further showcase himself and earn a larger deal when he's right in the middle of his prime. This deal makes a lot of sense for both sides.
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