Jet Greaves and the Blue Jackets Settle Just in Time, Avoiding a Historic Arbitration Hearing

It's been a busy offseason in Columbus, and the Blue Jackets just checked a major box off their to-do list. The club had been heading toward what would have been its first-ever arbitration hearing with a player, a milestone nobody in the organization was eager to reach. Fortunately for both sides, cooler heads prevailed at the eleventh hour.

A Last-Minute Resolution With Big Numbers

Jet Greaves and the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to a three-year contract worth $15 million on Thursday morning, just before the arbitration hearing was scheduled to begin. The deal carries an average annual value of $5 million and will keep the 25-year-old goaltender in Columbus through the 2028-29 season, at which point he'll hit unrestricted free agency at age 28.

The gap between the two sides heading into the hearing was significant. Columbus had filed at $2.8 million for Greaves' salary, while the goaltender's camp came in at $7.5 million, a difference of $4.7 million. Had they not reached a deal, a third-party arbitrator would have been forced to pick one of those two numbers. That's a high-stakes coin flip neither side wanted to take.

Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell expressed his satisfaction with the outcome, calling Greaves a "high-character, talented and athletic goaltender" and emphasizing that the team's goal was always to keep him in the fold. Projections from analytics models had pegged a potential deal somewhere between $4 million on a short-term pact and $6 million on a longer one, so $5 million AAV over three years lands right in the sweet spot.

Greaves Has Earned His Payday

This contract comes on the heels of a breakout campaign for Greaves, who was handed the starting job in Columbus for the first time in his career and ran with it. Over 55 games, he posted a 26-19-9 record with a .908 save percentage, a 2.60 goals-against average, and two shutouts. His 16.5 Goals Saved Above Expected ranked ninth among all NHL goalies, putting him ahead of names like Spencer Knight, Stuart Skinner, and Filip Gustavsson.

Before this past season, Greaves had never appeared in more than 20 NHL games. His previous stint in 2024-25 was limited to just 11 contests, though he was outstanding in that small sample with a .938 save percentage and a 1.91 GAA. He also built an impressive resume in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters, compiling an 82-51-22 record over four seasons before cementing himself at the NHL level.

Greaves also boosted his stock this spring by representing Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. He went 6-2-0 with a sparkling .920 save percentage and 1.88 GAA over eight games, a performance that many believe pushed his asking price even higher during negotiations.

With this deal done, Greaves now holds the longest contract in the Blue Jackets' goaltending room. He'll earn slightly less than Elvis Merzlikins, whose deal expires after this coming season. Pheonix Copley is also under contract, but it's clear Greaves is the guy Columbus is building around between the pipes. The club's attention now shifts to forward Cole Sillinger, who has an arbitration hearing scheduled for next Monday, as well as the contract situations of young star Adam Fantilli. The Blue Jackets are clearly trying to lock down their core as they push toward playoff contention, and securing Greaves was a crucial first step.