By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on X @cookejournalism
Another short-lived Georgii Merkulov experiment for Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins is in the books. Following a three-game swing with the big club in March, Boston’s blue-chip prospect was held off the scoresheet and is yet again returning to Providence.
The Bruins announced on Wednesday that Merkulov and Jeffrey Viel are returning to Providence, while Patrick Brown, Riley Tufte and Ian Mitchell have been recalled from Boston’s American Hockey League affiliate. Vinni Lettieri is also joining the Bruins on an emergency basis.
The slew of roster moves comes hours after another dismal performance from the Bruins on Causeway Street, dropping a 6-3 decision to the middling Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. The Bruins are now losers in seven of their last eight games as a postseason berth continues to become more of a fever dream as the trade deadline approaches. Sweeney and the rest of the Bruins brass have already ignited a retool, dealing Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday for a pair of draft picks and AHL blueliner Maximus Wanner.
As injuries continue to pile and the team heads toward a rebuild, expect the transaction wire to be busy from now until the end of the season. Brown, Tufte, Mitchell and Lettieri were all seen skating at Warrior on Wednesday morning. Merkulov and Viel didn’t skate.
Merkulov didn’t do much in his latest stint with the B’s, skating in three games. The only thing that shows for it on the state sheet is a pair of penalty minutes logged in Boston’s 1-0 loss to the Minnesota Wild. The offensively gifted winger has appeared in six games this season with the Bruins and 10 games total through the last two NHL seasons. Viel is also returning to Providence after a three-game sample that didn’t yield any points. The most Joe Sacco deployed him on the ice came against Nashville (9:03 time on ice).
As for the additions, the Bruins know what they are getting in Brown, a veteran AHL’er who has skated in 497 games in the minors. He’s played in two games with Boston this season and was seen taking bottom-six line rushes with Johnny Beecher and Mark Kastelic on Wednesday.
Tufte has netted 18-13-31 in Providence this winter and has demonstrated some offensive capabilities that could be a jolt to the bottom of Boston’s forward core. The 6-foot-6 giant took reps on the second power play unit on Wednesday with recent call-ups Micthell and Lettieri. Tufte also skated on the second line with Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle — a combination that could unlock his two-way game if Sacco elects to dole out that combination against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
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