Blue Jackets Enter a Whole New Goaltending World: Greaves on Top, Talbot Ready to Help

The Columbus Blue Jackets will enter the 2026-27 season with an important change on their roster. A mainstay in their goaltending room has moved on.

With Elvis Merzlikins included in the Matthew Knies/Kirill Marchenko trade, the Blue Jackets’ goaltending room consists of Jet Greaves and Cam Talbot. This change might not get the attention that some other stories have gotten. But it’s an important enough storyline that could determine how the team does this season.

Greaves emerged as the clear number-one goaltender. Some of his underlying numbers put him among the top goaltenders in the NHL in 2025-26. His contract extension was a sign that the Blue Jackets believe he can help take them to the next level.

Merzlikins had offseason shoulder surgery and was going to be out for an indefinite period of time. The Blue Jackets signed Talbot to a one-year deal specifically to be the backup for Greaves. It was a strong sign that we may have seen the last of Merzlikins in a Blue Jackets’ uniform. That turned out to be correct.

Talbot is now on his ninth NHL team after spending the last two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. One of the key issues the Blue Jackets have had was inconsistent goaltending depth. It was not good enough to keep up with the contenders.

By bringing Talbot in, the Blue Jackets believe that they have a better foundation in the blue paint. Should something happen to either Greaves or Talbot, they have veteran Pheonix Copley in Cleveland. Evan Gardner is now in a better position to learn and develop with the Monsters.

The Blue Jackets are going into the new season with what they believe is some much-needed stability in net that they haven’t had in years.

Talbot’s Transition

Having someone like Talbot come in who is used to being an NHL journeyman should help the Blue Jackets on a couple of fronts. He knows what to expect while also knowing what his role will be.

Given Talbot’s experiences, this is an easy transition for him. He also appreciates how quickly he can get connected with his new team.

“I feel like it’s been that way my entire career pretty much,” Talbot said. “It’s easy for me to just jump in here and plug and play. The hockey community is so great – such a small world. If you don’t know guys, guys reach out and say ‘Hey, this is my guy. Give him a call.’ You make those connections pretty quickly.”

“At this point in my career, it’s more about my wife and kids – them having to switch schools, find new friends, wives groups, new sports teams,” Talbot said. “That’s what becomes logistically tough. For me, I can walk into any dressing room and know the guys are going to welcome you with open arms. So it’s more about the family.”

Talbot is familiar with several of the Blue Jackets. He and Copley were the tandem for the Los Angeles Kings in 2023. He was teammates with Sean Monahan on the Calgary Flames. He played with Ivan Provorov on the Philadelphia Flyers. He also played at the recent World Championships with Greaves and Denton Mateychuk.

That familiarity has helped Talbot get comfortable quickly with the Blue Jackets.

“The relationships we already have here make for a smoother transition,” Talbot said. My wife was very good friends with some of the other wives here. They’ve already reached out, found hockey teams for my son, found schools for the kids. They’ve got a realtor set up for us. Little things like that go a long way when you’re coming to a new team.”

Talbot Ready to Help

The Blue Jackets enter the 2026-27 season with one objective – to make the playoffs first and then win the Stanley Cup. There is a sense of urgency around the team that everyone can feel.

Talbot felt that from the moment he joined the team.

“You can definitely feel it from the pre-camp meetings,” Talbot said. “That was pretty much the message from everybody – from Don (Waddell) to Bones and everyone from there on down. They’ve got some unfinished business here and I’m looking to slide in and help fill the net whenever I can. This team has a lot to prove.”

“They brought in a lot of good pieces over the summer and at the end of last year. They’re really two points away. If we can start off strong here with the first six, seven games, a lot of those at home, (we’ll) put ourselves in a good position to start.”

Talbot will also be able to continue working with Greaves and helping him grow. There was already a mutual respect of Greaves from Talbot given how the Blue Jackets played against the Red Wings down the stretch last season.

“I was extremely impressed with how he carried the load down the stretch,” Talbot said of Greaves. “Then getting to know him on a personal level over in Switzerland was a lot of fun. He’s a great kid, really down to earth, works his butt off. When he’s on his game, he’s a pretty special goaltender. It’s going to be a great relationship. Looking forward to working with him.”

Welcome to a new world of Blue Jackets’ goaltending. Greaves is on top. Talbot is ready to help in any way he can. And the Merzlikins’ era has officially come to an end.

This has the potential to be one of the best moves the Blue Jackets made this offseason. Should they eventually make the playoffs, we will look back at how Greaves and Talbot handled the crease.

Greaves can carry a heavy load of playing time. Talbot knows how to keep that load from becoming a grind. Together, they don’t just fill the crease. They give the Blue Jackets a chance to stop living on the edge every night.