73 Days Until The Home Opener At Nationwide Arena
Jet Greaves was first eligible to be drafted into the NHL in 2019, but he would go undrafted. The kid from Cambridge, Ontario spent the next few years playing for the Barrie Colts of the OHL. With the league not playing in 20-21, and Greaves turning 20 years old, he decided to turn pro.
Greaves would sign a pro contract with the Cleveland Monsters in 2021. In October of that year, he would make his pro debut, making 40 saves and beating the Belleville Senators.
In the 2021-22 season, Greaves would split his time playing for Cleveland in the AHL and Kalamazoo of the ECHL. He played in 29 games for the Monsters, going 12-12-3 with a GAA of 2.84 and a save % of .905. Meanwhile, in Kalamazoo, he played in 15 games going 10-5 with a GAA of 3.05 and a save % .907. Mid-way through the season, he had played well enough that the Jackets rewarded Greaves with a 3-year entry-level contract. At that point and time, Greaves was not considered a top prospect in the CBJ organization, so to earn that contract was pretty cool to see.
During the 2022-23 season, Greaves was expected to play back-up to Daniil Tarasov. The plans were that Tarasov would play 55-60 games in the AHL to get himself ready to take on a bigger role with Columbus. However, due to injuries in Columbus with Elvis Merzļikins and Joonas Korpisalo, Tarasov only was able to play in 11 games for Cleveland. Tarasov himself was injured often and only played in 17 NHL games. The goalie situation was a complete disaster up and down the organization. That being said, Greaves played in 43 games for Cleveland, going 19-16-5. He had a GAA of 3.08 and a save % of .899. Some people will say that's not good, but for a 22-year-old with hardly any pro experience, he did well. So well that he earned a call-up and was able to start against his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs on April 4th, 2023. He would lose 4-2 but would make 46 saves on 49 shots.
The 2023-24 season was supposed to be a year that saw the Cleveland Monsters make a deep playoff run, and that's exactly what happened. It wasn't easy, but they made it happen. Despite injuries to Columbus and Cleveland, the Monsters were able to win their division on the final weekend of the season and go on to play in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Hershey Bears. They lost that series in 7 games, but some of the young Monsters were growing up before everyone's eyes. The vets on the team showed why they deserve a shot at the NHL as well.
Jet Greaves finished the 22-23 season with a 30-12-4 record and with a save % of .910. Had he not been called up to Columbus to play in 9 games, his record would be even better. In the AHL playoffs, Greaves went 8-5 with a .926% save %.
Merzļikins and Tarasov are expected to be in Columbus next season, which means Jet Greaves is going to get another season with Cleveland. Last year Greaves became the franchise leader in wins for Cleveland, with 61 regular season wins. Many consider him the best goalie in franchise history already, and with him most likely getting a chance to add to that total, his record might be hard to break in the future.
The 2024-25 season will feature a new goalie in Cleveland's rotation. The Jackets signed veteran Zach Sawchenko to a one-year contract and comes in with 32 career AHL wins. The Monsters also signed Pavel Čajan to a one-year AHL contract and has 16 AHL wins. The signing of Sawchenko leads some to believe that the Jackets expect Greaves to get extended time in Columbus, either due to injuries or player movement. Either way, it was definitely an insurance move.
Jet Greaves has become not only a fan favorite but also a player who looks as though he can handle the NHL crease. Is Jet Greaves the goalie of the future for the Columbus Blue Jackets? With the lack of quality prospects in the system, aside from maybe Sergei Ivanov, Greaves is looking more and more like the guy who will be getting a lot of starts for Columbus soon.
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