The State Of Columbus Blue Jackets Goaltending

The Columbus Blue Jackets are currently having a goaltending nightmare, and there's no easy way for Don Waddell to fix it.

They currently have Elvis Merzļikins and Daniil Tarasov in Columbus, Jet Greaves, Zach Sawchenko, and Pavel Čajan in Cleveland. In the pipeline, which is a very long pipeline, there is Sergei Ivanov, Melvin Strahl, and Evan Gardner. Strahl and Gardner are both 19 or under, and Ivanov is 20. Ivanov would be the prospect closest to making a possible jump as his KHL contract is up after this season.

If Waddell wants to change the goalie situation, it's going to take something drastic like a trade to make that happen.

The NHL save % this season currently sits at .900%, which is the lowest since the 1995-96 season. Here's a crazy fact: NHL save % has dropped every year since Connor McDavid was drafted and started playing in the 15-16 season. The 15-16 season ended with a .915 save %. Coincidence?

So where do the Jackets goalies rank? Let's take a look.

Elvis Merzļikins - 9-9-2 / 3.11 GAA / .887% / 1 SO

• His 3.11 GAA is 20th in the league, and his .887 is 21st. He's given up the 9th most goals against among starting goalies but has only faced the 21st most shots on goal.

Daniil Tarasov - 3-5-1 / 4.26 GAA / .857% / 0 SO

The Columbus Blue Jackets rank dead last in save % league-wide with a .879. They've faced the 16th fewest shots in the league, so it's not like they're getting shelled every night. But they're 30th in the league in GAA at 3.63. They're simply not stopping the shots they should be.

They brought Jet Greaves up for a few games to see what he could do, and he did ok. He kept the team in a few games but ultimately lost them all. His numbers in the three games he played were nearly identical to Merzļikins' numbers.

So what do they do? Trade pieces for a veteran goalie, or find a stud prospect that a team is willing to part with. They can't wait too much longer to make these decisions, and by too much longer I mean in the next year or two. This is a decision the Jackets need to start thinking about now.

Do they re-sign Daniil Tarasov, who is set to be an RFA after this season? Can they find a trade partner for Elvis Merzļikins? Or do they need to buy him out? He has two more years at $5.4 million after this season. A buyout would cost the CBJ an average of $1,625,000 through 2029. Year two of the buyout would be $2,800,000 however.

There is no easy fix for this, and Don Waddell has work to do to get it right.

2025 is going to be a big summer for Columbus!

What's Next - The Blue Jackets return home on Thursday to play the New Jersey Devils.

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