It came down to the wire, but the Blue Jackets avoided a July 23 arbitration hearing with goalie Jet Greaves by re-signing the restricted free agent to a three-year contract extension worth $15 million.
Greaves, 25, filed for salary arbitration prior to the NHL’s July 5 deadline for player-elected arbitration, and was set for a hearing at 9 a.m. July 23 in Toronto. In pre-hearing briefs, Greaves asked for $7.5 million on a one-year deal and the Blue Jackets requested $2.8 million.
“Jet is a high-character, talented and athletic goaltender who has become an important part of our hockey club,” Blue Jackets president/general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. “Our intent always was to get a deal done to ensure he remains a Blue Jacket and we are thrilled that we were able to do so.”
Waddell and two members of his executive team flew to Toronto on July 22 to attend the hearing. They also kept talking with Greaves and agent Pat Brisson until a deal was struck.
It could have become the first time the Blue Jackets went to the hearing stage of arbitration and Greaves’ salary would’ve been determined by an arbiter who could have picked any salary amount that at least met an 85% threshold of the $825,000 he made in 2025-26.
Arbitration also would have resulted in a one-year contract, leaving Greaves and the Blue Jackets in the same boat a year from now. Now, he’s signed through 2028-29 and likely has the starting goalie role ahead of Elvis Merzlikins heading into training camp.
Jet Greaves’ importance to Columbus Blue Jackets
Greaves’ path to an NHL starter’s role is an underdog tale of an undersized goalie who signed with the Blue Jackets in 2021 as an undrafted free agent from the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League.
Originally signed as an organizational depth goalie, Greaves flourished in the Jackets’ system while maturing into an NHL backstop with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters plus a short stint in 2021-22 with the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings.
Making his NHL debut by playing one game for the Jackets in 2022-23, Greaves continued to develop while staying patient and not letting his listed size of 6 feet and 187 pounds hold him back. He played nine NHL games in 2023-24 and 11 more in 2024-25 before finally spending a full season with the Blue Jackets in 2025-26.
Each step along the way, he’s had to prove himself because of his height and path lacking an NHL draft pedigree.
Each time, he has overcome any concerns to shine at both the AHL and NHL levels, including a 26-19-9 record with a 2.60 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and two shutouts for the Blue Jackets last season.
Greaves earned the starting role ahead of Merzlikins under former coach Dean Evason before a coaching switch to Rick Bowness forced him to do it all over again, which he did while even keeled and highly motivated.
Greaves’ size does cause him issues against opponents who have time to shoot high against him from dangerous scoring areas, but his quickness getting to shots below the waist and hand/eye coordination with the glove are elite skills.
Merzlikins will compete with Greaves for the starting role with just one year left on his contract, a deal that pays $5.4 million.
Can Jet Greaves continue NHL success for Columbus Blue Jackets?
General managers, scouts and coaches at the NHL level typically avoid small goalies because they see lots of space that’s wide open for the world’s best players to target.
It makes sense, but there are always exceptions to the rule, and the NHL keeps finding them. Nashville Predators starter Juuse Saros is listed at just 5-11, 180, and he’s one of the league’s elite goalies heading into his 12th NHL season in Music City.
So, though rare, it can be done. It’s still too soon to compare Greaves with Saros, but he gives the Blue Jackets a level of consistency between the pipes that Merzlikins has struggled to provide.
That’s not insignificant. Now, the trick is continuing to do that after NHL scouts have gotten a full year to pick apart tendencies and vulnerabilities. Last season wasn’t Greaves’ first exposure to NHL shooters, so there’s solid reason to believe he’s the real deal.
The league’s best shooters have tested his glove and quickness numerous times over the past three seasons, and most wind up skating away shaking their heads. Should that continue, the Blue Jackets have no problem keeping Greaves, a beloved teammate, their top goalie.
Dispatch Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets sign Jet Greaves to $15 million extension before arbitration hearing
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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By Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
