Report: Blue Jackets, Jet Greaves nearly $5 million apart in arbitration filings

The Columbus Blue Jackets and goaltender Jet Greaves are nearly $5 million apart in their arbitration filings, according to Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman, with the team offering $2.8 million and Greaves’ camp filing $7.5 million.

“Remember these are strategic, but that is quite a gap,” Friedman reported Tuesday, adding that the arbitration hearing will likely be Thursday. “Once it starts, there can be no settlement.”

The 25-year-old Greaves is coming off a two-year deal that was reached when Greaves was previously a restricted free agent in July 2024. The two sides settled on a contract that carried a $812,500 cap hit through the 2025-26 campaign.

Last season, Greaves compiled a record of 26-19-9 with a .908 save percentage (SV%) and a 16.5 goals saved above expected (GSAx), the latter of which ranked ninth in the league. In parts of nine NHL seasons, the Cambridge, Ont., native has posted a 36-28-11 record with a .913 SV% and a 2.61 goals against average (GAA).

Greaves, an undrafted free agent, signed with Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, ahead of the 2021-22 campaign. In 158 career regular-season games across parts of four AHL seasons, he posted an 82-51-22 record with a .909 SV% and 2.87 GAA.

Before turning professional, Greaves spent parts of two seasons playing junior hockey with the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts. He went 20-27-5 with an .899 SV% and 3.71 GAA in 60 games. He also played two seasons in the Jr. B-based Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League, where he posted a 10-25-0 record with a .902 SV% with the Guelph Hurricanes and Cambridge Winterhawks.