Boston Bruins

Bruins Bring Back Merkulov; Make Final Roster Decisions Before Free Agency

Published

2 weeks ago

June 30, 2025

Photo courtesy of the Providence Bruins/@AHLBruins on 𝕏

The Boston Bruins have re-signed forward Georgii Merkulov, but several of their other prospects weren’t so lucky as the team made its final roster decisions ahead of NHL free agency on Monday.

While Merkulov returns to the Bruins organization on a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000, Jakub Lauko, Oliver Wahlstrom, Ian Mitchell, Drew Bavaro, Trevor Kuntar, Daniil Misyul, and Jaxon Nelson will all have to find new employment as none of them received qualifying offers from the club.

Merkulov, 24, spent the majority of last season playing in AHL Providence, where he registered 54 points with 15 goals in 59 games. He appeared in six games across separate stints for the Bruins, but for the most part looked out of place, recording just one assist while adjusting to play at the NHL level.

“To produce more, you have to think offense first rather than defense,” Merkulov said back in March. “When I’m up here, I got to help the team and not be a liability by playing defensively and then offense when it presents itself.”

Despite Merkulov’s struggles, the Bruins still believe he can be a factor for them at some point this year. He’ll have the opportunity to compete for a roster spot during training camp as the team moves to incorporate more youth into its lineup this upcoming season.

Of the players not retained by the Bruins, Lauko is the most notable. Boston reacquired him at the trade deadline this past year as part of a deal that sent Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild. The chippy winger dressed in 18 games and provided a small light of positivity both on the ice and in the locker room during an otherwise dismal final stretch of the season, scoring five points with two goals. Lauko was originally drafted in the third round back in 2018, and appeared in 101 career games for the club.

Castoff from the New York Islanders, Wahlstrom joined the Bruins as a waiver claim in mid-December, with his heavy shot highly advertised to help rejuvenate their struggling offense. Instead, the former first-round pick only seemed to do more harm than good whenever he had the chance to play, accruing 28 penalty minutes in 16 games while scoring only one goal before being put back on waivers.

Elsewhere up front, the Bruins bid farewell to Kuntar after he posted just 12 points with three goals in 54 games last year in the AHL. A fourth-round selection out of Boston College in 2020, Kuntar totaled 22 points over the span of two seasons for Providence.

The subtractions of Bavaro, Mitchell, Misyul, and Nelson further deplete the Bruins’ organizational depth along the blue line, an area that will surely need fortifying this offseason.

Boston has already gotten to work, re-signing several pending free agents to new contracts, including Morgan Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Henri Jokiharju, John Beecher, and Michael DiPietro.

NHL free agency officially opens July 1 at 12 p.m. EST.