Sunday: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that Merkulov has cleared waivers.
Saturday: It appears that Avalanche winger Georgii Merkulov has recovered from the injury that landed him on IR to start the season. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports relays (Twitter link) that Colorado has placed Merkulov on waivers.
The 26-year-old was an undrafted free agent signing by Boston back in 2022, following a strong freshman year at Ohio State University that saw him record 20 goals and 14 assists in 36 games. It’s safe to say that the offensive production has followed him to the pros, at least at the AHL level.
Merkulov has four full professional seasons under his belt, recording between 54 and 65 points in each of them with AHL Providence.
However, despite his success in the minors, NHL playing time has proven to be relatively elusive for Merkulov. He has just 11 appearances at the top level under his belt over three years with Boston; just one of those came last season.
He hasn’t had much success in the limited action either, as he has been limited to just one assist in those outings while averaging 12:18 per night of playing time.
Because of the limited NHL action and his overall professional experience, Merkulov became eligible for Group Six unrestricted free agency this past summer. That led him to agree to a one-year, two-way deal with Colorado with the hopes that he might have a chance to push for an end-of-roster spot in training camp.
Instead, an undisclosed injury in training camp yielded an injured/non-roster designation and now a trip through waivers. Meanwhile, barring a claim and a near-full-time spot in a team’s lineup, he’ll once again hit the open market as a Group Six free agent in July.
Teams have until 1 PM CT on Sunday to place a claim on Merkulov. If he’s claimed or demoted to AHL Colorado after clearing, the Avalanche will clear a small $8,854 cap charge from their books, reflective of the brief NHL stint that Merkulov had with Boston last season.