Columbus Blue Jackets
Jet Greaves and Blue Jackets Head to Arbitration With a Massive Gap
Arbitration filings are in for Columbus and Jet Greaves. The team and the playerare being strategic, but there is quite a gap.
Columbus and goaltender Jet Greaves are headed to an arbitration hearing this Thursday after filing well apart on term, according to Elliotte Friedman. Greaves has valued himself at a $7.5 million cap hit, while the Blue Jackets have him pegged at $2.8 million — a $4.7 million gap that will need to be closed either through last-minute negotiation or a third-party ruling due 48 hours after the hearing.
The two sides aren’t necessarily disagreeing on whether Greaves earned a raise — it’s a strategic debate over just how much. Columbus reportedly wants a multi-year extension done, per The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline, but clearly isn’t ready to pay a starter’s price off a single strong season. And that season was legitimately strong: Greaves posted a .908 save percentage and 2.80 GAA across 55 games, with 16.5 Goals Saved Above Expected — good for ninth among all NHL goaltenders, ahead of names like Spencer Knight, Stuart Skinner, and Filip Gustavsson.
The catch is sample size. Before this year, Greaves had never played more than 11 NHL games in a season, the most being his brilliant 2024-25 stint (14.5 GSAx, .938 save percentage). His track record is real, but it’s thin relative to the number he’s asking for.
Complicating things further, Greaves is one of three unsigned Columbus RFAs, alongside forward Cole Sillinger and 2023 No. 3 overall pick Adam Fantilli — both of whom the Blue Jackets are hoping to lock up long-term. Columbus has roughly $23 million in cap space to manage across all three situations, adding pressure to find efficient numbers rather than set a high bar with Greaves.
Since Greaves can’t reach unrestricted free agency until after the 2028-29 season, Columbus retains real control here — even an arbitrator-ordered deal would only cover one or two years before this negotiation resurfaces. Analysts have floated two realistic outcomes: a one-year bridge around $4 million, or a four-year deal closer to $6 million AAV.
How Is This Going to Shake Out Between Greaves and the Blue Jackets?
While neither side has presumably submitted the number they are expected to be comfortable with — the Blue Jackets know they’ll have to come up and Greaves come down — these proceedings are always tricky. A big gap can be taken personally. The hearing itself is often a tough process to go through, which is why so many players and teams try to avoid it. The hope here is that Greaves doesn’t suddenly feel undervalued by the Blue Jackets and look to leave the organization.
As Aaron Portzline writes, “The arbitrator is tasked with finding the appropriate salary in the middle, not picking either the club’s “ask” or the player’s. Each side leans toward an extreme version of what they believe is appropriate, as a way to draw the arbitrator’s “mid-range” finding either lower (club) or higher (player). If #CBJ Jet Greaves reaches arbitration, look for a finding between $4.5M and $5.5M on a 1-year deal.”
Everyone understands this process. It doesn’t mean feelings don’t get hurt along the way.
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