Bruins sign Georgii Merkulov to one-year contract extension

The Boston Bruins announced Monday that the club has signed center Georgii Merkulov to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a $775,000 annual average value.

Through 59 games last season with the AHL affiliated Providence Bruins, the 24-year-old Russian-born forward tallied 15 goals and 39 assists for a team-leading 54 points coupled with 16 penalty minutes and a minus-one rating. Merkulov also saw six showings with the Bruins in which he finished with one point, two penalty minutes, and a minus-one mark while averaging nearly 14 minutes of time on per game.

In all, through part of four seasons with Providence, Merkulov has totaled 70 goals and 109 assists for 179 points in 201 career contests. Merkulov has also recorded one point in 10 career appearances with the Bruins.

A graduate of the NCAA’s Ohio State Buckeyes, Merkulov originally signed with the Bruins in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. In a single season at the collegiate level, Merkulov made 36 appearances with the Buckeyes in which he tallied 20 goals and 14 assists to pace the squad with 34 points. For his efforts, Merkulov was named to the Big Ten’s All-Rookie and First All-Star Teams. The following season, in 2022-23, Merkulov debuted with Providence full time where through 67 outings he collected 24 goals and 31 assists for 55 points to top the team in scoring. At season’s end, Merkulov was named to the AHL’s All-Rookie Team.

Merkulov is the latest signing by the Bruins who earlier Monday agreed to contract extensions with center John Beecher, defenseman Henri Jokiharju, and goaltender Michael DiPietro, while on Sunday the club inked center Morgan Geekie to a six-year contract extension worth $5.5 million per season.

The Bruins closed out the 2024-25 season with a 33-39-10 record and 75 points, missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016.