The Columbus Bue Jackets drafted Daniil Tarasov in the 3rd round of the 2017 draft.
It's official, The Columbus Blue Jackets have a goalie problem. But where has Daniil Tarasov been?
The young Russian has been virtually nonexistent for two months now and with the Jackets calling up Jet Greaves, it's pretty evident that Columbus had no intent on playing him.
Tarasov has played in nine games all season. Since November 2, he's started four games and lost them all. In those four starts, he averaged 5.25 goals against and has a save % of .811. His last start came back on December 5th against Edmonton, where he gave up six goals. He hasn't played since. For the season he has a record of 3-5, a GAA of 4.26, and a save % of .857. For this trio, he's definitely the weaker link.
The Jackets called up Jet Greaves last week and he immediately got to start. He's made three starts, going 0-3 with a GAA of 3.33 and a save % of .889. His numbers are nearly identical to Elvis Merzļikins 3.11 GAA and .887 save %. It was announced today that the Jackets were sending Greaves back to Cleveland ahead of the NHL's Christmas roster freeze.
So what do they do with Tarasov?
Should they decide to send him to Cleveland at some point, he would need to clear waivers to get there. He would probably get picked up by someone. Goaltending in the league this year has been abysmal for the most part, and teams are making trades and waiver claims to see if they can somehow get better at the position. On one hand, if he is the weaker of the three, it would be a small loss. On the other hand, the organization would then need to acquire another goalie somehow to play in Cleveland with Zach Sawchenko and Pavel Čajan. The Monsters are loaded up and ready to make another run at the Calder Cup and need some depth at the position. Teams never want to lose a player for nothing.
Tarasov is set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and It's not looking good for the once-promising goalie to get re-signed. Starting next season, Jet Greaves is on a one-way NHL deal, so expect him to be in Columbus full-time. Elvis Merzļikins still has two years on his current deal as well. Has he played well enough this year to be traded? He has shown flashes of brilliance but also looks like the Elvis of the last few years in some cases as well.
The Blue Jackets have a goalie problem, and it's one that Don Waddell can't fix as easily as fans want.
What's Next - The Blue Jackets return home on Thursday to play the New Jersey Devils.
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