One of the offseason goals of Blue Jackets General Manager Don Waddell was to bolster the organizational goaltending depth. He did just that with the acquisition of Ivan Fedotov, who was acquired to be the third goalie within the organization.
The CBJ have only played three preseason games and each of the top three goalies within the organization have played. Jet Greaves played well in his first game, where he stopped 23 of 24 shots (0.958 save percentage).
Elvis Merzlikins played okay in his first game, where he stopped 8 of 10 shots (0.800 save percentage). But, recently acquired Fedotov has seen the most action.
He has played in two games and has stopped 38 of 40 shots (0.950 save percentage). Just going by the eye test, all three goalies have looked good, with Greaves and Fedotov having looked the sharpest.
There are four more preseason games to go, but if these goalies continue their current play, the Blue Jackets will have some big decisions to make with how to balance them within the organization.
Let me be clear: the biggest decision will be who the second goalie within the organization will be. While Jet Greaves is not the solidified #1 goalie, his strong play to end last season and to start the preseason has him on a trajectory to be the #1 goalie within the organization. At this moment, I think he is a lock to make the opening night roster.
Who will back him up? There are three different scenarios that could play out prior to the start of the season. The Blue Jackets will need to decide on one of the three.
Scenario 1: Jet Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins are the tandem in Columbus, with Ivan Fedotov being the #1 goalie in Cleveland.
This scenario was the likely initial intention of GM Don Waddell. In this scenario, Greaves and Merzlikins form the goalie tandem in Columbus. Fedotov would require waivers to be sent to Cleveland, where he is susceptible to being claimed.
With some teams in need of a goalie (I’m looking at Toronto in the wake of Joseph Woll’s leave of absence), there is a possibility that the CBJ may lose Fedotov. With the strong preseason play of Fedotov, I suspect many teams would strongly consider putting in a claim for the goalie.
Do the Blue Jackets want to lose their goaltending depth for nothing (especially after just trading for Fedotov)? This may not be the ideal scenario for the organization to utilize.
Scenario 2: All three goalies are on the active CBJ roster.
This scenario would be to ensure that the organization keeps all three goalies. There are a couple downsides to this scenario.
First, this scenario leaves limited goalie depth for Cleveland. With the organization hoping to continue development of its young players, having a strong AHL team is important.
Second, having a third goalie on the roster means that the team could only carry 2 additional players if needed. An NHL team can have 23 guys on the active roster, with 20 dressing per game. With a goalie as one of the extra players, that leaves 2 other open spots.
Barring any injuries, the team already has 13 forwards and 7 defensemen on NHL contracts. That would get the team to the 23-player roster limit. This means that there is no room for any other players (Luca Del Bel Belluz, Mikael Pyyhtia, Hudson Fasching, Daemon Hunt, etc.) to make the team.
If those players truly deserve to be on the team, then one of the 13 forwards or 7 defensemen would need to be sent to Cleveland. That player could be lost to a waiver claim, which would hurt the organization depth.
The last scenario is looking more and more likely, and it could lead to a wide variety of fallouts. Let's break this one down on the next slide.