Merzlikins Is Out, and Greaves Is Now the Answer Whether He's Ready or Not

Columbus signed Jet Greaves to a three-year, $15 million deal in late July with the understanding that he'd share the net. That plan lasted about three weeks. Elvis Merzlikins underwent shoulder surgery on August 20 with no return timeline attached, which means Greaves isn't splitting starts anymore — he's carrying them, and training camp is right around the corner.

The timing is rough. Michael Hutchinson retired in late July, so the veteran insurance policy is already gone. What Columbus has behind Greaves right now is unclear, and that's the problem. Management spent the summer methodically solving last April's collapse — Nichushkin, Tuch, Sillinger, a new assistant coach — and goaltending looked like the one position they'd actually gotten ahead of. Now it's the position with the most uncertainty.

Greaves is young, and this organization has shown it's willing to build around youth. But there's a difference between developing a goaltender and handing him the crease by default before the season starts. My read is Columbus probably needs to add a veteran backup before camp opens, even on a short-term basis — someone who can absorb a start here and there and keep Greaves from being run into the ground if the defense in front of him looks anything like it did in April, when the team was giving up 3.4 goals a night.

Lundestrom is still out with no clear timeline, Merzlikins is now in the same category, and the offseason that looked mostly finished a few days ago suddenly has an open item that matters. Columbus has until camp to address it.