When you think of players in a prove-it season, you could start with those in the crease for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
In Jet Greaves' case, he's looking to prove last season was no fluke.
After spending parts of five NHL seasons with Columbus, the 2025-26 season marked Greaves' first full year as an NHL starter.
In a career-high 55 games and 53 starts last season, Greaves emerged as the undisputed No. 1 goaltender, posting a 26-19-9 mark, a 2.60 goals-against average, and a .908 save percentage. His 55 games played were tied for the ninth most in the league.
Across his career, he's accumulated a 36-28-11 record with a 2.61 GAA and .913 SV%.
As the Blue Jackets look to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019, Greaves could be the X-factor that swings enough close games Columbus' way in 2026-27.
In at least 40 games played at 5-on-5 last year, Greaves was eighth in the league in goals saved above expected per 60 (0.205), according to MoneyPuck. In all situations, he was eighth (0.302). He was also eighth in goals saved above expected (16.5).
Greaves spent the first part of the Blue Jackets' offseason playing for Canada at the World Championship. In eight games, Greaves was 6-2-0 with a 1.88 GAA and .920 SV%.
During the Blue Jackets' end-of-season media availability, president and general manager Don Waddell indicated the club was content with its 1-2 tandem of Greaves and Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves, a restricted free agent, is set to get a new contract before the start of next season. His arbitration hearing is scheduled for July 23. Merzlikins is entering the final year of his contract.
According to head coach Rick Bowness, Merzlikins will have every opportunity to compete for the No. 1 role next season.
"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."
The Blue Jackets would benefit from more consistent play out of Merzlikins. His career baseline is a record of 108-111-38, 3.22 GAA, and .900 SV%. Merzlikins did play well when Bowness initially took over behind the bench in January, winning five of six.
Overall, Merzlikins was 14-11-3 with a 3.43 GAA and .883 SV% in 30 games, while Columbus also added veteran Pheonix Copley as additional depth.
Coming off a breakout 2025-26 campaign, Greaves will now look to provide the same unflappable play and calm demeanor over the course of an 84-game season. With Greaves likely assuming the bulk of the play in net, another heavy workload will also depend on the production the Jackets get from their backup, whether that's Merzlikins or Copley.
The biggest question facing Greaves entering 2026-27 isn't whether he can play at an NHL level — he answered that last season. It's whether he can sustain that level while carrying the responsibility of a full-time starter.
Save for a few notable additions and subtractions, the Blue Jackets' core nucleus looks to remain intact for the season ahead. After narrowly missing the playoffs in each of the last two seasons, Columbus is counting on internal growth from several key players to finally push the team over the line.
Players like Kent Johnson, Sean Monahan, and Dmitri Voronkov look to regain their impact after inconsistent seasons, while Kirill Marchenko aims to build off another overall strong season. Meanwhile, the Blue Jackets will continue to rely on Zach Werenski delivering the Norris-Trophy caliber play that has made him one of the league's top defensemen.
While the Blue Jackets need strong contributions from the players mentioned above and more team-wide, perhaps no position carries more importance than the one in the crease. Greaves hopes to represent the one thing the Jackets have lacked since Sergei Bobrovsky's departure: a potential long-term answer in net.
When the Blue Jackets were routinely making the playoffs with the dependable Bobrovsky in net, as they did in 2013-14 and 2016-19, they were on the receiving end of Vezina Trophy-caliber play. Bobrovsky claimed the award in 2012-13 and 2016-17, stealing games and masking flaws on a nightly basis throughout his Blue Jackets career.
Columbus doesn't necessarily need Greaves to replicate Bobrovsky's Vezina-level of play to return to the postseason, but they do need him to provide the consistency and steady, dependable play he showed last season that can impact the outcome of close games.
If Greaves proves his breakout season was the beginning rather than the exception, the Blue Jackets may finally have the stability in net they've been searching for since Bobrovsky's departure — and that could be the difference between another near miss and a return to the playoffs.
