For years, Daniil Tarasov was touted as the Columbus Blue Jackets’ goaltender of the future. Now it’s clear, he missed that opportunity.
The Blue Jackets have always struggled to develop high-end goaltenders. The one exception is current Florida Panthers netminder Sergei Bobrovsky as he took a major step forward in Columbus but some of that can be attributed to his time with the Philadelphia Flyers as well.
Steve Mason, the only player in organization history to have won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year, is a prime example of a failed opportunity. The list goes on with Anton Forsberg, Oscar Dansk, Joonas Korpisalo, and even current goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. None of them lived up to their high expectations, and now it seems there’s another name joining the growing group: Daniil Tarasov.
Tarasov’s Early Doubts
When the Blue Jackets drafted Tarasov in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft, there were some doubts about him but it wasn’t centered around his skill level. Experts were worried that he may not be able to stay healthy, and it could hinder his development. He missed his entire draft year due to an injury, and some teams thought it may be a lingering issue moving forward.
It’s starting to seem that those critics may have been right after all, as Tarasov has struggled to stay healthy over the entirety of his NHL career.
As time has progressed, Tarasov has yet to play more than 28 games in a single season, which he accomplished during the 2022-23 season. After making the move to North America during the 2020-21 season, he showed some signs of promise but they were typically short-lived and statistically, he’s never lived up to the hype around him over a longer sample size.
What’s Next for Tarasov?
Just a few months ago, there was still the belief that Tarasov would be the next big thing for the Blue Jackets. He then went on to have his best North American season in 2023-24, putting the thought in the head of many that he could surpass Merzlikins and become the starting goaltender as early as this season. That hasn’t been the case whatsoever. To this point, he has a .857 save percentage and a goals-against average of 4.26 through nine games. His best performance came against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 22, when he stopped 26 of 28 shots but it has been a flash in the pan for an otherwise disappointing season.
Despite Merzlikins’ struggles, Tarasov has been even worse and now it appears the new management team prefers to roll with Merzlikins and Jet Greaves instead. Tarasov hasn’t played in over two weeks, and although neither of the other goaltenders has been phenomenal in their own right, they’ve been better.
Moving forward, it seems like the best-case scenario for Tarasov’s career would be a late breakout season, similar to what Forsberg did with the Ottawa Senators during the 2021-22 season.
If Tarasov is going to do that though, it’s seeming less and less likely that it will happen in Columbus. While Greaves likely shouldn’t be expected to become the Blue Jackets’ long-term starting goaltender, he seems like a much more likely option at this point in time.
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With Tarasov hitting restricted free agency this summer, Don Waddell will have to decide whether or not it’s wise to continue investing in the Russian goaltender’s future. If he thinks that’s no longer the case, then the Blue Jackets general manager may opt to not tender a qualifying offer to him.
Tarasov’s future is definitely a toss-up at this point, but if he doesn’t turn things around soon, it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see him depart from Columbus when his contract expires at the end of the season.
