Bruins general manager Don Sweeney still has one big move left to make this summer: Finalizing Jeremy Swayman’s contract extension. Other than that, the dust has pretty much settled and Boston’s 2024-25 roster – at least to start the season – is coming into view.
As we’ve covered , and as Sweeney himself has acknowledged, there is a “gap” in the forward group, specifically at second-line right wing. It’s clear that youngsters like Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov are going to get a legitimate opportunity to show they’re ready to win an NHL job.
“I would say to Merk or Fabian or Riley Duran, keep going down the list: Just pin your ears back, train your ass off this summer, and come with the intent that there will be an opportunity here,” Sweeney said on July 1. “If you're the best player, then we find a way to get you in the lineup. … Those guys should have clear intentions to come and find an opportunity to beat somebody out, because it'll be there.”
What if that doesn’t happen though? That was one of the questions (actually a multi-part question) that we got for our latest Skate Pod mailbag (listen to the full episode above). Here’s what Kim emailed us:
1) I know the plan is for Lysell or Merkulov to earn the 2RW position out of camp. However, what if things go south quickly once the season starts? Do they send them back to Providence and Monty juggles lines until the trade deadline when they can find someone to fill the role?
2) Could you see Lysell or Merkulov demanding a trade if this opportunity doesn't work out for either of them? At this point, I feel like it's either going to work or not and neither of them has anything left to prove in Providence. Get something for one or both of them while you can?
Let’s start with the first part. Short answer: Yes. If things don’t go well for Lysell and/or Merkulov and other guys are playing better than them, they’ll be sent down to Providence and Jim Montgomery will have to look elsewhere for solutions. The Bruins are not going to simply give either of those guys a roster spot. They’re going to give them an opportunity. It’s up to them to make the most of it.
Morgan Geekie, Trent Frederic and Matt Poitras may all be penciled into third-line roles for now, but they all saw time in the top six at times last season and can all play center or wing. Don’t expect them to just step aside for Lysell or Merkulov. They’re all going to want to show that they’re the guy who should be on the second line.
Justin Brazeau showed some promising signs as a rookie last season. His five goals in 19 games would project to 22 over 82 games. Second line is probably a stretch for him right now, but he’s a player who has made a habit of outperforming expectations. As his junior coach, Stan Butler, told me last season : “He’ll move up the food chain. He’s always done it.”
Free-agent signing Max Jones could be a candidate to slide up to third-line duties, something Sweeney hinted at last week. Other youngsters who could push for a roster spot include Riley Duran (name-dropped by Sweeney last week), Marc McLaughlin (4 goals in 14 NHL games), John Farinacci (38 points in his first AHL season last year) and Trevor Kuntar (fits the physical forechecker mold Sweeney has prioritized in the bottom six).
And yes, if none of those options prove to be good enough, the Bruins can go out and target a wing before the trade deadline. No roster is truly finalized until March.
“I don't think your team in July is ready-made,” Sweeney said last week. “If anybody feels that way, then congratulations, and they've checked every single box. But we're not set in October. We’ll allow these guys to go through and see who can push, and then we'll re-evaluate, and if we have holes or gaps, we'll try and address them.”
Now, for the second part of Kim’s question: How do Lysell and Merkulov handle it if they don’t make the team? You would hope the answer would be: Go down to Providence, work their butt off, and give the Bruins no choice but to call them up sometime in November or December.
Not taking advantage of the opportunity in front of them in September or October doesn’t doom them to another full season in Providence, and hopefully they would realize and embrace that. I would disagree with Kim that they don’t have anything left to prove in Providence. If you’re not in the NHL, you always have something to prove.
That said, it is certainly possible that one or both of them would get frustrated enough to request a trade. Players and teams often have differing opinions about how “ready” a player is, and sometimes that difference of opinion can reach a breaking point. This just happened with the Winnipeg Jets and top prospect Rutger McGroarty, who requested a trade last month, reportedly after the Jets were unwilling to guarantee him an NHL roster spot for this upcoming season.
We saw how Sweeney would likely handle a trade request a few years ago when Jake DeBrusk made one. He asked around and tried to find a deal, but refused to just give the player away. In that case, Sweeney never found a trade that he believed made sense, and DeBrusk actually wound up signing an extension to remain in Boston after turning his season around and rescinded the trade request.
Lysell and Merkulov both remain under team control beyond this season. Sweeney would have no obligation to trade one of them unless the deal made sense. With the Bruins already short on young talent, he certainly wouldn’t just give those guys away. And hey, maybe they would ultimately change their minds like DeBrusk did if their seasons eventually started to look up.
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