The Columbus Blue Jackets addressed one of their major concerns heading into the 2025-26 campaign. The Jackets completed a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for goaltender Ivan Fedotov. Columbus general manager Don Waddell knew the goalie room needed an upgrade, and he went so far as to say that the situation caused him to have nightmares.
“I don’t have nightmares too often, but every nightmare I had this summer was about goaltending (depth). I felt like we needed to address it,” the veteran executive told reporters, including team reporter Jeff Svoboda, earlier this week.
This was a necessary move for the team. While the franchise brings back Elvis Merzlikins, who played in 53 games in 2024-25, they traded away Daniil Tarasov. This left Columbus with just Jet Greaves and Zachary Sawchenko behind Merzlikins. Those two have a combined 28 games of NHL experience.
Why the Blue Jackets' goaltending depth was a ‘nightmare'
The nightmare was not just about the lack of experience behind Merzlikins, but also the quality of goaltending they had in the system. Merzlikins once requested a trade to get out of Ohio, and has not been a top-quality goaltender in his time with the Blue Jackets. He has a career 3.20 goals-against average and has not been above .900 in save percentage since the 2021-22 season.
This has led to some speculation that Greaves could take the starting job this year. He has limited experience. The netminder has played just 21 games, but has been solid, with a 10-9-2 record and a 2.62 GAA.
Meanwhile, the third goaltender was Sawchenko, who has played in just seven NHL games. Furthermore, he struggled with a 3.35 GAA and a .901 save percentage in limited action in 2021-22.
Fedotov was one of the best goaltenders in the KHL before making the move to North America. While he struggled in his time with Philadelphia, it gives the Blue Jackets another potential option if Merzlikins struggles out of the gate, or if the injury bug hits.
