On Sunday afternoon, the Boston Bruins announced that defenseman Michael Callahan and forward Marat Khusnutdinov were both returning to the Black and Gold with new contracts. The restricted free agents (RFAs) were two of many RFAs that General Manager Don Sweeney had.
There are other players whose decisions need to be made on, and with free agency kicking off at noon on Tuesday, it's more than likely that those decisions have been made with pending free agents, both restricted and unrestricted. At the trade deadline back in March, Sweeney sold and got some solid returns. One deal that he had with the Minnesota Wild brought back a pair of players, and one of them, a Boston fan favorite, is likely hitting free agency and ending his second go-around with the Bruins.
Jakub Lauko is likely hitting free agency on Tuesday, according to the Bruins' beat reporter
Sweeney traded Justin Brazeau to the Wild, and in return, he got Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko, who Boston traded to Minnesota just a year ago. Lauko was a Boston fan-favorite with his style of play that frustrates opponents and his gritty style. However, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, who spoke to his agent, Lauko looks like he'll be hitting free agency.
JP Barry, Jakub Lauko’s agent, tells me Lauko will be a UFA, Bruins apparently not tendering him a qualifying offer
— steve conroy (@conroyherald) June 29, 2025
Truth be told, this is not surprising, not giving Lauko a qualifying offer. He was part of their bottom-six after returning for the last six weeks of the season, and in reality, the Bruins need to redo their bottom-six, and Lauko is one of a few players from last year who would be the odd-man out.
Bringing back Khusnutdinov makes sense as he has speed and, at times, showed some offensive ability to finish, while Lauko struggled both in Minnesota and Boston. Fraser Minten, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Brandon Carlo trade at the deadline, is a promising young player. You have to think that Matthew Poitras and Fabian Lysell bring more value than Lauko would. Let's not forget Mark Kastelic coming back from an injury as well.
It all adds up and makes sense that Sweeney and the Bruins let Lauko hit free agency, as other players can fill the needs they have. Lauko was a nice story, but it's clear that his time in Boston had come to an end.