Prior to the Boston Bruins playing the New York Rangers at the TD Garden on Friday afternoon, there was a flurry of roster moves. As part of some of the moves, the Bruins called up Georgii Merkulov from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) after Matej Blümel was placed on injured reserve after getting injured against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.
First-year head coach Marco Sturm also noted that Boston was going to be without David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha against the Rangers in what turned into a 6-2 loss. Merkulov played on Friday, but just 10:35 in time on ice. After the game, Sturm spoke about Merkulov's performance.
“It was probably really fast for him, if you ask him,” Sturm said of Merkulov. “It is a hard league. He was definitely not the issue today.”
Against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night in a 3-2 shootout win, Merkulov was not in the lineup after Zacha returned. On Sunday, the Bruins announced that they were sending Merkulov back to Providence, which leaves his future in the organization in doubt.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 30, 2025
Bruins assign Georgii Merkulov to the Providence
Assigning Merkulov back to the AHL makes you wonder if his chances within the organization are just about up. Whether it's been under Jim Montgomery, Joe Sacco, or Sturm, Merkulov has not been able to carve out an NHL role in Boston. How many more chances will he get?
The move could also signal some good injury news coming for a change. Viktor Arvidsson and Pastrnak are both injured, but could the Bruins be close to getting one of them back sooner rather than later? Boston's off until Tuesday night when they head to Little Caesars Arena for the back end of a home-and-home with the Red Wings.
The Bruins will practice on Monday, and it'll be interesting to see how it's part of the plan in terms of injured players before they depart for Detroit in the afternoon.