Last month it was rumored that former San Jose Sharks forward Kevin Labanc would be leaving the Shanghai Dragons and now one of his teammates, another former Sharks forward, is following in his footsteps.
Nick Merkley, who was a member of the Sharks organization during the 2021-22 season, is reportedly leaving the Dragons to join Dynamo Moskva for the 2026-27 season according to Shaiba, a hockey outlet in Kazakhstan.
Merkley spent just one season with the Dragons, serving as an alternate captain and leading the team in both goals and points. In 68 games, he scored 24 goals and finished the season with 45 points.
The last time Merkley played on North American ice was during his time with the Sharks. Since then, he's been moving around the Russian Kontinental Hockey League fairly regularly. He initially joined Dinamo Minsk and spent two seasons in the capital of Belarus before moving to Avtomobilist Yekaterinberg for the 2024-25 season. After one season in Yekaterinberg, he signed with Shanghai, a team with considerable former NHL talent, for the 2025-26 season.
There are few details on Merkley's expected contract with Dynamo Moskva, but they'll likely be more prevalent later on in the summer.