Blue Jackets, Greaves agree to three-year contract
After some tough negotiations, the Columbus Blue Jackets finally locked down their potential No. 1 between the pipes.
On Thursday, the team announced that it has signed goaltender Jet Greaves to a three-year contract. The deal will carry an AAV of $5 million through the 2028-29 season.
The massive pay bump for the 25-year-old comes after the team and player had their arbitration hearing on Thursday. Earlier in the week, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Greaves and the Blue Jackets were not on the same page in talks. Friedman stated that Columbus was only offering $2.8 million a year, while Greaves’ camp was asking for $7.5 million.
This is the second time that Greaves had filed for arbitration with the Blue Jackets. However, the two sides avoided a hearing, with the Cambridge, Ont. native signing a two-year contract, carrying an NHL cap hit of $812,500.
Since then, Greaves managed to find his way into a starting position with the big club. This past season, he appeared in 55 games, going 26-19-9, with a 2.60 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and two shutouts. His play helped the Blue Jackets go from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to, briefly, sitting in a top-three spot in the Metropolitan Division. However, Columbus stumbled in the final weeks, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the sixth year in a row.
Greaves’ path to consistently playing in the NHL is quite the tale. He spent the first four years of his pro career mostly with the Cleveland Monsters, the Blue Jackets’ American Hockey League affiliate. He was one of the league’s better goaltenders, leading Cleveland to the Eastern Conference Final in 2024.
In 76 games in the NHL, Greaves has a record of 36-28-11, a 2.61 GAA, a .913 SV% and four shutouts. In 158 regular-season appearances in the AHL, he is 82-51-22, with a 2.87 GAA, a .909 SV%, and seven shutouts. Greaves is also 11-8 in the Calder Cup Playoffs, with a 2.33 GAA, a .921 SV% and one shutout.
