For the first

time in several years, there is some positivity surrounding the direction of the Boston Bruins. General manager Don Sweeney’s youth movement is starting to pay dividends. The promise of a top-four defense corps consisting of Zdeno Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Torey Krug and Brandon Carlo is awfully encouraging. There are also some young forwards with good pedigrees knocking at the door. But it will be difficult keeping up with the Joneses in the Atlantic Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs don’t just have great young talent, they’re now a solid organization from top to bottom. You have to figure the Tampa Bay Lightning will be back in the mix. The Montreal Canadiens, as flawed as the are, still have Carey Price for at least another year. One of these days, the Buffalo Sabres might figure out how to put all their valuable pieces together. And, oh yeah, the Ottawa Senators have won six straight times at the Garden, ending the B’s season the last two years here. There’s no guarantee the B’s upward trajectory will be reflected in the standings if they don’t address some needs, starting with the imperative re-signing of restricted free agent David Pastrnak. Beyond that, here are five tasks that must be accomplished this offseason: