The 2016–17 Boston Bruins season was the
93rd season for the
National Hockey League franchise that was established on November 1, 1924.[1] After missing the
Stanley Cup playoffs in each of the past two years, the team returned in
2017, losing to the
Ottawa Senators in the first round in six games.
The Bruins clinched the playoffs for the first time since the 2013–14 season. They met the
Ottawa Senators in the first round, where they were ultimately defeated in six games.
2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs
Eastern Conference First Round vs. (A2)
Ottawa Senators: Ottawa wins series 4–2
†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Bruins. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Bruins only.
Awards and honours
Milestones
On November 22, 2016, the Bruins as a team reached the milestone of 20,000 goals all-time in NHL play, dating back to
their 1924–25 debut season with
Smokey Harris' goal for the Bruins, as the first NHL goal in team history on December 1, 1924.[7] New forward
David Backes' power play goal achieved the 20,000 goal milestone for the Bruins on November 22, in a 4–2 home loss to the
St. Louis Blues, Backes' former team as the visitors to TD Garden; the 20,000th goal plateau has only been attained by one other NHL team, the Bruins' top rival, the Montreal Canadiens.[8]
Transactions
The Bruins have been involved in the following
transactions during the 2016–17 season:
[b] The
New York Islanders' second-round pick went to the
Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on October 4, 2014, that sent
Johnny Boychuk to New York in exchange for Philadelphia's second-round pick in
2015, a conditional third-round pick in 2015 and this pick.[36]
The
Boston Bruins' fourth-round pick went to the
New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on February 29, 2016, that sent
Lee Stempniak to Boston in exchange for a second-round pick in
2017 and this pick.[38]
[c] The
Minnesota Wild's fifth-round pick went to the
Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on June 27, 2015, that sent a fifth-round pick in
2015 to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.[39]
[d] The
Boston Bruins' sixth-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 25, 2015, that sent
Carl Soderberg to Colorado in exchange for this pick.[40]
Colorado previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 2, 2015, that sent
Max Talbot and
Paul Carey to Boston in exchange for
Jordan Caron and this pick.[41]
The
Boston Bruins' seventh-round pick went to the
Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 25, 2016, that sent a seventh-round pick in
2017 to Boston in exchange for this pick.[42]
^Pelletier, Joseph (June 2011).
"Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com - Smokey Harris". bruinslegends.blogspot.com. bruinslegends.blogspot.com. Archived from
the original on November 25, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016. This is Smokey Harris. He is the answer to the trivia question "Who scored the first goal in Boston Bruins history?"...on December 1st, 1924 the Bruins played their first NHL game, hosting their expansion cousins the Montreal Maroons at the Boston Arena. The Maroons opened the scoring that night, with Dinny Dinsmore scoring on an unassisted effort at the 9 minute mark of the 1st period. Cue Harris. At 3:30 of the second period he took a pass from Carson "Shovel Shot" Cooper and beat Maroons goaltender Clint Benedict to open the scoring. Exactly 6 minutes later Cooper scored the only other goal of the night, securing the Bruins a 2-1 victory in their very first game.
^Russo, Eric (November 23, 2016).
"Need to Know: Bruins vs. Senators — Wait, There's More". nhl.com/bruins. Boston Bruins. Retrieved November 24, 2016. David Backes' power-play goal in the first period of Boston's 4-2 loss to St. Louis Tuesday night was the franchise's 20,000th goal. They joined the Montreal Canadiens as the only NHL teams to achieve that feat.