After losing a tiebreaker to the Detroit Red Wings and missing the playoffs for a second straight season, the Boston Bruins will being looking to improve enough (about five points or so) to get back into the postseason in an increasing competitive Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Since the end of the 2015-16 campaign, the Bruins extended defensemen Torey Krug and Kevan Miller, each for four more years. The loss of 30-goal man Loui Erikkson, who signed with Vancouver, will hurt. Boston's biggest splash in the offseason (so far) was signing 32-year-old David Backes to an expensive five-year deal.