When the Boston Bruins' 2024-25 season ended at the TD Garden back in April with an overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils, it marked the end of some players' time with the Black and Gold. General manager Don Sweeney faced a number of decisions on some players, and he knew he was going to let some of them walk in free agency.
One of those players that Sweeney ended up cutting ties with, and really for the second time in 12 months, was forward Jakub Lauko. At the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Sweeney traded Lauko to the Minnesota Wild, but at the trade deadline this past March, Boston reacquired him from Minnesota along with Marat Khusnutdinov for forward Justin Brazeau.
Boston re-signed Khusnutdinov to a contract in June, but Lauko saw the writing on the wall and hit free agency. No NHL club expressed interest in a forward who brings a feisty game each night, but on Friday morning, he found a new home overseas.
Former Boston Bruins forward Jakub Lauko signs to play overseas in 2025-26
Lauko, who was drafted in the third round and 77th overall by the Bruins in the 2018 Entry Draft, is signing with HC Dynamo Pardubice in the Czech Extraliga. If you think that club sounds familiar, well, it should. Earlier this week, the club announced it was cutting ties and terminating the contract for former Boston defenseman Jakub Zboril.
Lauko returns to his home country to continue his career after 139 career NHL games over three seasons combined with the Bruins and Wild. He had 11 goals and 28 points over those games while averaging 10:01 a night.
"I play hard and energetic. I believe I'm good defensively, but I also want to wake up offensively and contribute to the team in that regard," said Lauko in a press release from the team.
Boston fans know all too well how Lauko played, and he won over the hearts of a lot of Bruins fans, but he just wasn't a player that the club or Sweeney saw as part of the future under first-year coach Marco Sturm. The roster already feels like it is loaded with players like that in what is going to be a new-look bottom-six this upcoming season.