Last Tuesday, July 1st, marked an inauspicious sixth anniversary for fans of the Union Blue in Columbus. It was that same day, six years prior, that franchise netminder Sergei Bobrovsky signed with the Florida Panthers and "took his talents to South Florida." That day also marked the last time that the Columbus Blue Jackets had a long-term answer in the goaltender's crease.
I think that streak will finally end in October 2025, when the Blue Jackets are likely to return to the ice against an NHL opponent to begin the 2025-2026 National Hockey League regular season, because of a change they made already this offseason. If you didn't read the title, you might be wondering: What change did the CBJ make in net that will make this happen? They lost out on Jake Allen, John Gibson, and Thatcher Demko, likely the three best netminders available on the market this offseason.
The change that I'm referring to isn't one they made to bring in new talent at the position externally; it's tied to one they made earlier this offseason, and the opportunity it provides to a confident goalie that remains on the club's active roster.
First, I'm of course referring to the trade that sent longtime goaltending prospect Daniil Tarasov to, ironically, the Florida Panthers, where he will back up Sergei Bobrovsky for this coming campaign in South Florida as the Panthers drive to win their third-straight Stanley Cup. As we have said here at Union Blue about the netminding situation in Columbus since last offseason, this was going to be the final year of the Elvis Merzlikins-Daniil Tarasov tandem in Arch City.
Something had to give. Tarasov had a final year remaining on his contract, which was signed in 2022, and Merzlikins has two years remaining on his current contract, also signed in 2022. The club did not offer Tarasov a contract extension and instead traded him to Florida, while Elvis has remained on the roster.
The Tarasov deal has finally given a full-time NHL opportunity to the most outstanding goaltender in the history of the Cleveland Monsters franchise, a fan favorite in the Forest City: Jet Greaves. I have been very vocal in my support of the young netminder, and what I have seen from him in person, in advanced statistics, and at both the AHL and NHL levels.
I was dead serious when I said that Jet’s development curve will be studied by scouts and coaches for years to come if he makes the NHL full time. #CBJ https://t.co/sOeg3NvGY5
— Mike Stump (@Mr_UnionBlue) April 11, 2025
Look at any scouting report on Jet following his time in the Canadian Hockey League. You'll find that scouts cannot stop gushing about Jet's mechanics, especially his (soon-to-become) elite-level positioning and puck-tracking ability. I'm no previous youth hockey scout, but I have spent an intense amount of time observing Jet's abilities, especially at the AHL level, and I concur with the scouts.
The only other netminder I've seen with his size and elite-level mechanical skills is Juuse Saros, and Greaves has one to two inches and 10 pounds on Saros. He is the real deal and has proven it in every season since he turned pro with the Columbus organization in Cleveland. Jet has improved his GAA and save% in each campaign and has honed his skills accordingly. Through a combination of his own will and the solid coaching of Brad Thiessen and Niklas Backstrom (among others), he continues to improve.
For those like me who like to supplement the eye test with statistics and advanced statistics, courtesy of our friends at Moneypuck.com, I have you covered. Among those NHL goalies this past campaign who played at least ten games (Jet played in 11), Jet was ranked: 1st in Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 Minutes (1.318, almost double second place Anthony Stolarz at 0.779), 1st in % Percentage on unblocked shots (0.970), 1st in Save % above expected (+0.0209%), 1st in Save % on Shots on Goal (0.938), 1st in Goals Against Average (1.91), 1st in Goals Against Average Better than Expected (1.31), tied for 1st in Low Danger Unblocked Shot Attempt Save % Above Expected (0.011, tied with John Gibson), and1st in High Danger Unblocked Shot Attempt Save % Above Expected (0.267).
While we can't base all of our positive opinions of Jet on stats and the eye test off around a dozen career NHL games so far, I think he's at least proved he deserves the NHL shot, and I find it likely that he earns the full-time starter's crease before the end of the upcoming Blue Jackets campaign.
Someone compared him to a mix of prime Dominik Hasek and Andrei Vasilevsky, I seem to recall, on Twitter and Reddit. While I don't think we can say that with certainty just yet... I want to believe he's well on his way.