The Columbus Blue Jackets will enter the 2024-25 season with a lot of questions surrounding their team. Perhaps at the top of the list is how the goaltending situation will play out.
The Blue Jackets appear ready to run it back from 2023-24. Elvis Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are ready to occupy the 1-2 positions in some order. Training camp will dictate who gets the first shot.
In Part 1 of our 2024 Blue Jackets Summer Series, we spoke at length about how new head coach Dean Evason and his structure could revive the position. Both Merzlikins and Tarasov could benefit from a structure of low-event hockey in which fewer high-quality shots are taken against them.
We’ll start to get some answers to questions in a little more than a month when Training Camp opens. On Saturday, we caught up with Tarasov who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Chiller North for the unveiling of the sporting-goods collection bins. He opened up about his offseason and why he’s so excited for 2024-25. Here is Part 3 of our Blue Jackets Summer Series.
Tarasov Fully Healthy
Perhaps the best news any Blue Jackets’ fan could hear is that going into his third Training Camp, Tarasov is fully healthy. He came into the league coming off a major knee injury and has had bumps in the road along the way. But when he’s been in and available, he’s shown flashes of what kind of goalie he can be.
“I’m fully healthy and really excited about the new season,” Tarasov said. “Especially starting the training camp healthy and enjoying the season healthy.”
Before recently coming back to Columbus, Tarasov spent a couple of months back in Russia. Before ramping up his offseason training, he took the time to rest. One of his biggest priorities of this offseason was how he treated his body.
“I’m just trying to be smart with your body,” Tarasov said. “I got a lot of lessons from the last two seasons especially with the amount of injuries. I think I found a good balance between the rest and the workload and now I’m feeling really in good shape.”
“I started, I got one month’s rest. Really like trying to calm down, get the body rest and started work beginning July 1 actually. With the workouts every day doing some sessions in the gym and working with our strength coaches, Kevin Collins. And now I’m feeling really, really good and wanted to join the ice in the next week.”
Impact of New Leadership
The reaction to the new Blue Jackets’ leadership has been mostly met with positive reviews in the early going. That trend has seemed to spill over to the players too.
Tarasov said he has had some small talks with both Evason and GM Don Waddell. Even though the conversations weren’t long, the goaltender is already convinced the team is in a good place from a leadership standpoint.
“We had a small talk when they hired Dean,” Tarasov said. “He had been in the locker room for a couple minutes, just checking how was everything there. He was really impressed with this really good locker room. We had just small chat and they’re really good guys. They’re really good and straight (to the point) guys. I think we’re in good hands.”
Tarasov Excited for 2024-25
Tarasov wore a smile the whole time on Saturday at Chiller North. He was really excited to be a part of the sporting-good initiative where he met with fans and signed autographs.
However, Tarasov was also smiling because of how excited he is for 2024-25. Besides entering the new season with a clean bill of health, it’s an opportunity for him and the team to turn the page on a couple of bad seasons and look forward.
“We got some struggles in the last two seasons and everybody knows how tough that is, especially for the players and even more for the fans,” Tarasov said. “This is a huge fan base here and we love it. They really supported us even when we were playing not that great and we just wanted to give them, we are here to play for them. And just want to really play hard and show our passion on the ice. And yeah, just wanna be respectful for the fans.”
Tarasov has had an eventful offseason. Besides getting ready for 2024-25, he became a father for the first time. His entire routine changed but wouldn’t change it for the world.
“It’s awesome, it’s amazing,” Tarasov said about being a father. He now hopes to bring that energy into the new season to help the Blue Jackets start on an upward path.
Tarasov is happy, healthy and motivated. Given how the last couple of seasons went, a fresh start and a clean slate is exactly where he wants to be.