With 73 days to go until opening night at Nationwide Arena, there's only one person to talk about - Jet Greaves. Jet Greaves was first eligible to be drafted into the NHL in 2019, but 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, make 40 saves, and beat 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 went on to play 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 % of .907. Midway 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 backup 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 Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo, Tarasov was only able to play in 11 games for Cleveland. Tarasov himself was often injured 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. Greaves, the Monsters' all-time leader in career wins with 82, had another very good season for the Cleveland Monsters in 24-25. The young goalie went 21-11-6-3 with a .920 SV% for the Monsters. He would go to start six playoff games, go 3-3, and have a SV% of .912. In December of 2024, Greaves was called up by Columbus when it was clear that Daniil Tarasov had fallen out of favor with the Jackets. He made four starts from Dec 12 to Dec 23 and went 1-1-2. On April 10, Greaves was called up again after Elvis suffered a late-season concussion, and he was amazing. He would go 5-0 with two shutouts and would give up a total of four goals in those five games. He also had a SV% of .978%. Greaves had arrived, it seemed. Greaves' first full season in the NHL would be considered a success for the 25-year-old. He would go 26-19-9 with a SV% of .908 and a GAA of 2.60. Then he took Team Canada to the IIHF World Championships and had one heck of a tournament. He would go 6-2, with a SV% of .920 and a GAA of 1.88. One could argue that the World Championships alone cost the Blue Jackets an easy negotiation with Greaves' new contract. He is scheduled to go to arbitration on Thursday, and it would be the first time the CBJ and a player have reached the arbitration table without a new contract. Don Waddell has said that he will be looking at a one-year arbitration deal if it goes that far. Regardless of what happens on Thursday, Jet Greaves will be a Columbus Blue Jacket for the upcoming season. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stay updated with the most interesting Blue Jackets stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwm-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] and never miss a story. Let us know what you think below. For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
