Jet Greaves Contract Secures Columbus's Crease
TL;DR
- Jet Greaves signed a three-year deal with Columbus, avoiding the franchise's first-ever arbitration hearing. - He went with a .908 SV% in 2025-26, ranking sixth in the NHL in save percentage among goalies with 40-plus appearances. - The team filed at a lower amount, while Greaves asked for a higher amount. The midpoint buys three UFA-eligible years through 2028-29. - Cole Sillinger (arbitration July 27) and Adam Fantilli remain unsigned with roughly $17M in cap space left.
Jet Greaves and the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to a three-year contract on July 23, hours before a 9 a.m. arbitration hearing in Toronto. That hearing would have been the first in the franchise's 25-year existence.
Think about that.
Twenty-five years of hockey in Columbus and they've never once let an arbitrator decide a player's salary. Greaves came within hours of breaking that streak. The team filed at a lower amount. He filed at a higher amount. That gap doesn't narrow without real tension.
Why did Greaves land at $5M AAV?
The numbers force the issue.
Greaves went with a .908 save percentage last season. He ranked sixth in the NHL in save percentage and seventh in GAA among goalies with 40 or more appearances.
He became the fifth goalie in franchise history to reach a notable win total in a single season.
Career totals through 76 games: a record of wins, a GAA, and a .913 save percentage. But the stat that sealed the deal is the extended sample. Since March 2025, Greaves posted a strong record and .910 save percentage over 61 games, ranking top-five league-wide in save percentage.
Top-five over 61 games. That's not a hot streak. That's a No. 1 goalie who showed up and stayed.
The raise from a previous contract to a new deal is a significant jump. Sportsnet reported the total hits the midpoint between the two filings. The contract runs through 2028-29, covering his age-25 through age-28 seasons.
Three years of unrestricted free agency, bought out at a number that could look like a bargain if he keeps climbing.
How did Greaves go from undrafted to franchise goalie?
He was signed as a free agent at 20 years old. No draft call. No prospect hype.
Just a kid from Cambridge, Ontario who stopped pucks until somebody noticed.
Born March 30, 2001, Greaves turned 25 this spring.
Four years ago he was an undrafted afterthought. Now he's the starter on a team that still owes Elvis Merzlikins for one more season. The path mirrors guys like Cam Talbot or Jaroslav Halak: netminders who seized a starting job through performance, not pedigree. And cashed in before unrestricted free agency.
The difference is speed. Two seasons from a league-minimum contract to a multi-year deal.
That kind of jump takes talent and opportunity colliding at the right moment.
Can Columbus finish its offseason?
Two major RFAs remain unsigned.
Cole Sillinger has an arbitration hearing on July 27. Adam Fantilli has no arbitration rights and is reportedly vacationing in Italy. The club has roughly $17 million in cap space to fit both.
It's tight. Sillinger can force the issue with his hearing. Fantilli's only option is a holdout, which helps nobody. The Greaves contract already ate into the margin. And then there's the Merzlikins question. Columbus is paying two goalies a significant amount next season, and the one making less money is the starter. That makes Merzlikins a deadline rental piece if any contender comes calling.
The undrafted kid from Cambridge dodged arbitration and got his money.
Now we see if the Blue Jackets can lock up the rest of their core without that hearing room ever opening. Circle July 27 on the calendar. That's the next deadline that matters.