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Columbus Blue Jackets trade Daniil Tarasov to Florida Panthers for fifth-round pick
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- Columbus Blue Jackets trade Daniil Tarasov to Florida Panthers for fifth-round pick
A door for Blue Jackets rookie Jet Greaves to land a full-time roster spot in 2025-26 as one of the team's top two goalies appears to have opened.
The Blue Jackets have traded backup goalie Daniil Tarasov to the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers for a fifth-round pick (160th overall) in the 2025 NHL draft, which will be held June 27-28 in Los Angeles .
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"On behalf of the Blue Jackets, I'd like to thank Daniil for his contributions to our organization over the past four years," Blue Jackets president of hockey operations/general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. "He is an outstanding young man, and we wish he and his family well in the future."
Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov was 7-10-2 in 2024-25 with a 3.54 goals-against average and .881 save percentage in 20 games.
Tarasov, a pending restricted free agent, played sparingly in 2024-25 as Elvis Merzlikins ' backup. He struggled in the role, going 7-10-2 with a 3.54 goals-against average and .881 save percentage in 20 games. He needed an AHL conditioning stint to regain his timing after multiple poor outings led to long stints between appearances.
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Greaves, meanwhile, seized his opportunity. His scorching stint to finish the season helped the Blue Jackets win six-straight games and wind up just two points shy of a playoff spot.
Listed at 6-feet, 190 pounds, Greaves is five inches shorter than Tarasov and undersized as a goalie. That's why the Jackets were able to sign him out of the junior ranks in 2021 from the Ontario Hockey League's Barrie Colts. Since turning pro, Greaves has worked his way up the organization's depth chart while starring in net for the AHL's Cleveland Monsters the past four years.
The Blue Jackets signed goaltender Jet Greaves out of the junior ranks in 2021 from the Ontario Hockey League’s Barrie Colts.
He has also impressed Blue Jackets teammates and coaches during his stints as an injury fill-in the past three years, culminating with the outstanding stretch to end last season.
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After being recalled April 10 as an injury replacement for Merzlikins (concussion), Greaves started five straight games and went 5-0-0 with a .975 save percentage, two shutouts and just four goals allowed against 156 shots.
Tarasov, meanwhile, gets a fresh start with a team that has won the Stanley Cup the past two years with former Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky leading the way and former Blue Jackets assistant GM Bill Zito heading up the front office.
Blue Jackets goaltender Daniil Tarasov (at right) hugs goaltender Jet Greaves following Columbus' 6-1 win over the Islanders in the 2024-25 season finale April 17.
A 6-5, 203-pound netminder, Tarasov is only 26 and still has high-end potential at the NHL level. He's quick and athletic, especially at his size, and showed elite ability in spurts during his four seasons with the Blue Jackets. His problems were doing it consistently and staying healthy enough to play.
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Tarasov, selected in the third round of the 2017 draft (86thoverall), has battled multiple leg injuries that included hip surgery in 2022 and also missed extended time with at least one concussion. He's from the same hometown in Russia as Bobrovsky, Novokuznetsk. Bobrovsky grew up cheering for Tarasov's father, who was a tenured professional goalie.
Blue Jackets general manager said the team doesn't want to trade defenseman Zach Werenski, but if they think a deal is necessary, they will seek a "boatload" in return.
Waddell also completed a swap of organizational depth forwards on June 26, sending AHL Cleveland forward Cam Butler to the Minnesota Wild for Brendan Gaunce , who has one year remaining on a two-year contract. Gaunce is rejoining the Blue Jackets after playing for Columbus and Cleveland from 2021-24.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Blue Jackets trade Tarasov to Florida Panthers for fifth-round pick
