This offseason, the Columbus Blue Jackets have been focused on their young stars and squaring away contract details ahead of training camp in mid-September. With all three of their remaining restricted free agents still unsigned – Adam Fantilli, Jet Greaves, and Cole Sillinger – the team is eager to get the latter two through the arbitration period and sign their faces of the franchise to long-term extensions.
Despite the ongoing negotiations, we can likely project what each Blue Jackets’ season could look like. In this series of articles, we will go through each position’s projection for the 2026-27 season, based on fantasy projections, past seasons’ stats, ice time and surrounding factors. Here we will look at the team’s goaltenders.
Jet Greaves
Columbus’ expected starter is Greaves. General manager Don Waddell wants him signed long-term, but he is headed for an arbitration hearing on July 23. Greaves had a solid 2025-26 campaign, with a 26-19-9 record, 2.60 goals-against average (GAA), a .908 save percentage (SV%), and two shutouts.
Expect him to have most of the workload again this season, and his numbers should take another step forward. He has improved in each of his four seasons with the team. In his first two seasons, from 2022-2024, Greaves saw limited action, playing just 10 games, with a 3-7-0 record and a SV% of .912.
In 2024-25, Greaves turned a corner and finished the season with 11 games and a record of 7-2-2 with a .938 SV%, 1.91 GAA, and two shutouts. He finished the season 5-0-0 with a 0.75 GAA in that stretch.
He broke out in 2025-26, with 53 starts, 26 wins, 35 quality starts, and 18.6 goals saved above average (GSAA), which ranked third in the league, trailing only Logan Thompson and Vezina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy.
2026-27 Season Projection: 30-21-6, 2.52 GAA, .912 SV%, and three shutouts.
Elvis Merzlikins
Elvis Merzlikins had a tumultuous 2025-26 season, but after Greaves took over the net, he seemed to settle in as the second goaltender. He started far fewer games, but Waddell has insisted on keeping three NHL-caliber goaltenders in the organization, with the recent addition of Pheonix Copley.
The Blue Jackets will likely continue to play Merzlikins behind Greaves, but he should see more action with two games added to the schedule as the NHL moves to 84 regular-season games in 2026-27.
ELVIS. FREAKING. MERZLIKINS. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/EdJ7H8Fqtu
— NHL (@NHL) December 21, 2025
The hope is that with a smaller workload, Merzlikins can find the form he had before he signed a big extension with Columbus. In 2025-26, Merzlikins had a 14-11-3 record, a 3.40 GAA, a .883 SV%, and one shutout. Numbers that will need to improve this season if the Blue Jackets want to make the playoffs.
However, there is still hope for him. Head coach Rick Bowness took a liking to him when he first arrived on the scene, giving Merzlikins six starts in his first 11 games behind the bench. He earned a 5-1-0 record, with a 2.03 GAA and a .925 SV%.
2026-27 Season Projection: 12-9-6, 3.14 GAA, .892 SV%, and one shutout.
Blue Jackets Goaltending Expectations
Bowness showed his willingness to stick to the hot hand in net, and many times throughout the season that was Greaves. However, if they can get both to play at the highest level, it gives them fresh legs down the stretch, which helps the cause all around.
If both goaltenders can stay healthy and perform well, the Blue Jackets could end the season with a 42-30-12 record for 96 points, which has been enough to clinch the second wild-card berth or better in three of the last five seasons.
New: How #CBJ can become a contender, Part 1. How did we get here?
— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) July 13, 2026
Six years and counting. Zero playoff appearances. From coaching instability to way below average drafting/developing, we discuss some of why the team is where they're at today.
Read: https://t.co/gIcuqQJFQ8
With a few more wins, the Blue Jackets would be comfortably in with 100 or more points. That mark has been one that has been hit by every team that has hit the 100-point mark in each of the last five seasons.
The Blue Jackets open their season on Thursday, Oct. 1 at home against the Buffalo Sabres. They also play four Metropolitan Division opponents within the first month.
With big games from the start, the Blue Jackets’ goaltenders will need to come out of the gates on fire to start the season. With a better start, there is hope they can end the drought of six straight seasons missing the playoffs.
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