Blue Jackets Set Stage For Goalie Battle As Merzlikins And Greaves Compete For No. 1 Role

Yet, it sounds like there's one position that is already set.

During Thursday's media availability, both president and general manager Don Waddell and head coach Rick Bowness answered questions regarding the season that just concluded, as well as dropped nuggets on the team ahead of next season. 

One of those breadcrumbs touched on the team's goaltending, consisting of Jet Greaves, entering his second full NHL season, and Elvis Merzlikins.

"Regardless of the coaching in this league, you're not going anywhere without a goalie," Bowness said. "Doesn't matter what we do. If the guy can't stop the puck, you're not going to win. You've gotta have the goaltending.

"When eight teams miss (the playoffs), and eight teams make it, you gotta make sure you've got one of the best goalies. Jet played outstanding for us. Elvis, the games I played, played really well. Jet did the job we needed him to do. The goalie's job is to give you a chance to win every game. He did his job that way."

Merzlikins is entering the final year of a five-year contract signed on Sept. 21, 2021. His contract carries a buyout (full details at PuckPedia) if the Blue Jackets were to go that route, but as of right now, it sure sounds like the Blue Jackets are content with their goaltending tandem.

"Elvis had some good games the first part of the year and some games that didn't go as well," Waddell said. "When Rick took over, going into the Olympics, Elvis was very good. Then we came out of the break, and maybe Elvis wasn't as good, but maybe we weren't as good as a team either.

"When you look at goaltending, you also have to look what your options are, too. Right now, we feel pretty comfortable with the two guys we have going forward instead of trying to dip into a free agent market, which is pretty much an unknown market.

"I think we're in a pretty good spot with our goaltending moving forward for this next year."

If Merzlikins wants to be the No. 1 goaltender for 2026-27, he'll have every opportunity, according to his coach.

"My (exit) meeting with Elvis went very well," Bowness said. "He told me he thinks he's a No. 1. I said, 'Good, come to camp, be in great shape, and prove it.' We'll give him every opportunity. He wants to fight for that No. 1 spot? Fight for it. You think you're a No. 1 goalie? Prove it."

On Saturday, we wrote about the Blue Jackets' list of unrestricted and restricted free agents.

Bowness Locked In, Now the Blue Jackets Face UFA/RFA Decisions

Here's the blurb we wrote about Greaves as he is set to receive a new contract this summer as an RFA:

Greaves always seemed to flourish in his stints with the Blue Jackets, including down the stretch of the 2024-25 season, when he won his final five straight starts and seven of eight. He went 7-2-2 that year in limited action, to go with a healthy 1.91 goals against average and .938 save percentage. When he became a full-time part of the Blue Jackets' goalie tandem going into 2025-26, we wondered how that would go. And for the most part, Greaves played up to the part we thought he might.

In 53 starts and 55 games total, Greaves went 26-19-9 with a 2.60 GAA, .908 save percentage, and two shutouts. An RFA, now we'll see what the dollars look like.

In Greaves' favor, he was ninth among all goalies in goals saved above expected (16.5 in all situations). He was 11th in 5v5 situations (9.3) per MoneyPuck.

Greaves is only 25 years old and has 73 career starts under his belt, stemming back to when he broke into the league in 2022-23. The tape on Greaves is still small, but he has shown promise, and his first full season is something to build upon.

Merzlikins broke into the NHL in 2019-20 and took the league by storm with five shutouts in the midst of a 13-9-8 season. He had a 2.35 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

That season was the last time the Blue Jackets qualified for the postseason, playing in the COVID bubble tournament. In the shortened 56-game 2020-21 season, Merzlikins was 8-12-5 in 23 starts with a 2.77 GAA, a .916 save percentage, and two shutouts.

Since that year, Merzlikins has not had a season where he's been able to consistently put everything together. Maybe that changes under Bowness in a contract year?

Add Merzlikins' quest of believing he's a No. 1 to the list of things that are now on the record. Along with Bowness' promise of culture change.

One thing to keep in mind with goalies is the team in front of them. While Merzlikins hasn't played as well as he or the rest of the team would have hoped since the contract extension, he's shown stretches where he is good in spurts. It's whether he can prove it over the long haul.

Among the first things Bowness did upon taking over the Blue Jackets was write, "Our net comes 1st" on the whiteboard, emphasizing the statistical areas that ranked toward the bottom of the league. One of those was shots against.

The 30.9 shots allowed per game at that juncture ranked 30th of 32 teams. From Jan. 13 until the end of the season, they yielded 26.3, the eighth-best mark in the league.

That certainly helps your netminders.

Now we'll see how Greaves builds upon his first full season and how Merzlikins answers his own challenge.