NHL: One Glaring Weakness Each Team Must Fix Heading into Next Season

As the Conference Finals get under way, true hockey fans are torn. The playoffs only get better the later the season goes, but if your team isn't still in the mix, can you still enjoy the games? The answer is yes. Cheering for the game of hockey with no vested interest in the remaining teams does not affect your allegiance to your club.

The Minnesota Wild fan club will not come knocking at your door if you are fully immersed in a Devils-Rangers showdown. Similarly, the Carolina Hurricanes' front office will not revoke your partial season ticket plan if you happen to be enjoying a Coyotes-Kings slugfest.

While disappointment abounds in most NHL cities, the optimism that next year brings will begin the moment the Stanley Cup is lifted. The teams eliminated in this years' playoffs can hold their heads high with a certain measure of success, the teams who were on the outside looking in went back to the drawing board.

There were obvious deficiencies with some teams, and other teams couldn't recover from awful starts. Conversely, there were several teams who had a complete collapse after a strong start. Matchups also affected certain teams, as hot goaltenders stole games with regularity throughout the first two rounds.

Let's face it folks, unless your team's roster is being engraved on Lord Stanley's Cup this summer, the season was not a success. The time to fix the roster is coming up soon with next month's entry draft and the onset of free agency July 1. Whether it's addition by subtraction, a quality draft or a splash in free agency, every team will look to improve in a league where parity abounds.

Let's take a look at the most glaring weaknesses each team must address heading into next season.

Anaheim Ducks

No team started the 2011-12 season worse than the Ducks and it cost Randy Carlyle his job. Bruce Boudreau, the recently deposed Washington Capitals coach was able to fire the team up and get them back to respectability and playoff contention.

Though they fell short, the Ducks have a super talented roster. A full season under Boudreau should benefit the Ducks. Re-signing ageless Finn Teemu Selanne should be a priority.

Fatal flaw: Poor start

Remedy: New coach, fresh start

Boston Bruins

The defending Stanley Cup champs got knocked out of the playoffs by a hungrier Washington Capitals team. Tim Thomas was good but not great in goal, being outplayed in most of the series by rookie Braden Holtby. The Bruins are at a goaltender cross-roads: keep Thomas or get behind super-backup, and restricted free agent, Tuuka Rask. Thomas is signed through next season at a $5 million hit, but still has some trade value if Boston wants to stick with Rask.

Boston has too much talent on the roster for an overhaul. Beyond the pending goalie issue, the Bruins will head into next season pissed off, which is bad news for the Eastern Conference. They have large men on offense and defense who can shoot the puck really hard and/or beat you to a pulp if they see fit. Boston also has a group of young skilled forwards who can dangle all over the ice while you're looking to avoid Chara and Lucic. Don't panic Boston, you'll be just fine.

Fatal flaw: Cup hangover

Remedy: 1st round embarrassment will fuel the B's

Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo had a tale of two seasons this past year. They started out hot everywhere but in goal. Pride of America Ryan Miller had one of his worst seasons to date, but finished strong as the Sabres just missed the playoffs the last week of the season.

The Sabres had a ton of man games lost as well, losing a pair of Tyler's for a large part of the season. Ennis on offense and Myers on defense are keys to Buffalo's success moving forward. Ennis has breakneck speed and a nice scoring touch, while the hulking 6'8 Myers is coming into his own as a solid defenseman.

Buffalo is a young team and showed a lot of promise when healthy. While it's hard to quantify injuries as an area of weakness, the Sabres couldn't overcome Miller's rough start, Derek Roy's absentee play and a rash of key injuries.

Fatal flaw: Too many man hours lost/ Ryan Miller lost his mojo

Remedy: Miller found the Mojo in March and April/ Healthy roster in October/Paging Derek Roy?!

Calgary Flames

Poor Jarome Iginla. The Flames always seem to linger near the playoff race to convince management to hold on to him rather than sell at the trade deadline. This year was certainly no different, as the Flames missed the playoffs again for the third year in a row.

The Flames finished with a solid record, five points out of the playoff mix, but have some serious questions to address this offseason. Olli Jokinen, the team's best center all year hits the free agent market, while Iginla, the face of the franchise is headed into the last year of his contract. Miikka Kiprusoff played 70 of 82 games and will be 36 this October.

If the Flames want to rebuild, this may be the year to do it. GM Jay Feaster might be able to get another year out of his franchise players Iginla and Kiprusoff, but he'll have to pull the trigger early to deal if the Flames aren't contending in February next year.

Fatal flaw: Identity crisis. Flames need to figure out if they have enough talent to win now or start making deals for the future.

Remedy: Flames need to deal the veterans while they still have value. Get Bouwmeester off the books, he's a salary cap nightmare.

Carolina Hurricanes

A slow start and an awful November cost Hurricane coach Paul Maurice his job, and Carolina went on to miss the playoffs for the third year in a row. Kirk Muller took over the team in November and brought a lot of positives to the team.

Cam Ward was consistently inconsistent, and no Hurricane other than Eric Staal scored more than 46 points. Carolina needs offense. Badly. Jeff Skinner came back from a concussion, but was inconsistent and seemed to keep taking big hits for most of the year.

The defense, which had been the strength of the team, left Ward out to dry regularly. I was surprised to see the Canes actually finish.500 for the season, though they were last in the weakest division in the East.

Fatal flaw: Rough start to the season. Cam Ward inconsistent. No scoring. Pick one.

Remedy: Get some scoring in free agency or it's going to be another long year.

Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks should have been better this season, and should probably still be playing in the playoffs right now. I imagine Joel Quenneville is still wondering how his team lost four of five to Phoenix.

The answer is in goal. Corey Crawford was a wildcard for Chicago this year. Outside of Columbus, the Blackhawks surrendered the most goals of any team in the Western Conference. Though the goalie is usually the one to blame, the Chicago defense did him no favors.

The Blackhawks finished second in the West in goals scored, which makes one wonder how much better Chicago could have been.

Fatal flaw: Goaltending. Period.

Remedy: There are a couple of goaltending trade/free agent options for the Hawks that would make them immediate Cup favorites.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche finished the season with a whimper, losing seven of their last ten and missing the playoffs. We'll chalk that up to youthful inexperience as the Avalanche have a young roster full of promise.

Rookie Gabriel Landeskog made an immediate impact for Colorado, leading the team in goal scoring with 22. Center Ryan O'Reilly had a break out year leading the team with 55 points.

The Avalanche had a solid tandem in goal with Semyon Varlamov and J.S. Giguere. They will need to score more goals to be competitive next year as they finished fourth from the bottom in goals scored.

Fatal flaw:  Youth, goal scoring

Remedy: Experience. Tons of young talent in Colorado.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Oh Columbus, where to begin. The losers in the "Fail for Nail" sweepstakes, Columbus can't seem to get it right. Their captain did everything short of begging, to get out of Columbus, and the Jackets went into the tank early last year.

Rick Nash will be 28 in June. Trade him. He doesn't want to be there. You will not get equal value for him. Take a couple of 2nd line players or a number one goalie, but for the love of Brutus the Buckeye, trade him!

It's clearly rebuilding time again in Columbus, but the Blue Jackets do have some pieces to build around. They are far from contenders, but they can be competitive with the right moves this summer.

Fatal flaw: Talent, lack thereof

Remedy: Trade Nash. You won't get a player as good as Nash, but a couple of role players with experience will help develop the youth.

Dallas Stars

Dallas finished with as many or more wins than three playoff teams in the West, but still missed the playoffs. Solid play from Keri Lehtonen and the top four Dallas forwards had the Stars thinking postseason. However, a five game losing streak to end the season spelled curtains for Dallas as they watch the playoffs from home for the fourth year in a row.

The drop off from the top four Dallas scorers is significant, and the Stars need to get some depth if they want to end their postseason drought. With over 40% of Dallas' goals coming from the top three goal scorers, the Stars need some more production from the rest of their roster.

Lehtonen seems to be the answer in goal for Big D, but a sputtering offense cost the Stars dearly down the stretch.

Fatal flaw: Depth on offense.

Remedy: Pick up some veteran scoring via free agency.

Detroit Red Wings

As perennial Stanley Cup favorites, Detroit looked to be on it's way to another cup run before injuries and inconsistent play derailed the Red Wings' season. Playing with essentially the same core roster that won the 2008 Stanley Cup, Detroit hasn't improved their team in far too long. A younger, stronger and faster Nashville team made Detroit look its age in a five game 1st-round beat down.

Fear not fans of the Winged-wheel. Detroit has put itself in position to be players in the free agent extravaganza come July. With sights set on All-Stars Ryan Suter, Zach Parise or possibly both, the Red Wings will certainly be back with a vengeance next year.

Fatal flaw: Over confidence in their roster.

Remedy: Suter and/or Parise would look nice in Hockeytown and make fans forget the early playoff exit.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers raced out to a 7-2-2 record in October with a youth movement that offered promise and possibilities. Unfortunately the Oilers were not able to maintain their torrid pace and missed the playoffs for the sixth straight season.

Rookie Ryan Nugent-Hopkins teamed with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle to form a formidable line of young guns to give Oiler fans something to look forward to. With the number one overall draft pick next month, the Oilers will add to their stable of young snipers with projected No. 1,  Nail Yakupov.

The Oilers seemed to be learning on the fly last year, and were a handful every night. Another year of experience for some promising defensemen and the emergence of goaltender Devan Dubnyk should tighten things up in the Oilers defensive end.

Fatal flaw: Youth/inexperience on defense.

Remedy: Time, patience and more productivity from veterans.

Florida Panthers

The Florida Panthers were the surprise success story of the Eastern Conference this year. Though you wouldn't know it from looking at their team +/- of -24 (worst of any playoff team), the Panthers received total team play and had a balanced scoring effort from the entire team.

Some lights-out goaltending from a re-born Jose Theodore helped the Panthers push Eastern Conference finalist New Jersey to seven games.

The Panthers will need to be more responsible defensively next year if they want to duplicate their success from this season,

Fatal flaw: Porous defense.

Remedy: Develop young defensemen.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings certainly appear to have all the pieces in place for a run at the Stanley Cup. After last night's win in Phoenix, the Kings improved their playoff road record to 6-0. Johnathan Quick has emerged this year as arguably the best goaltender in the league, and now that the Kings have figured out how to score goals again, it's hard to find a weakness in their lineup.

Terry Murray probably wishes the Kings had figured this out sooner. Murray was invited to coach elsewhere in early December after a mediocre start. Darryl Sutter hardly had the team playing any better through the first couple of months. An 11-4-2 finish helped the Kings sneak into the playoffs.

Receiving production from the previously dormant Dustin Penner and rookies Slava Voynov and Dwight King, the Kings have blown away the top two seeds in the West. Dustin Brown appears to be marking his territory as the alpha male in L.A. with seven goals and 13 points through the first ten games of the Kings postseason.

If a weakness can be found, it may be on the blue line. The Kings trade deadline swap for Jeff Carter sent Jack Johnson, one of the top two defensemen on the team, to Columbus. Johnson's departure means more playing time for youngsters Voynov and Alec Martinez.

Fatal flaw: Scoring and chemistry.

Remedy: Deep playoff run is helping Kings find chemistry that lacked earlier in the year.

Minnesota Wild

The Minnesota Wild could have been a top seed heading into the playoffs....if the season ended in December. The Wild suffered a total collapse beginning in January that saw them miss the playoffs and finish sub .500.

The Wild scored the fewest goals in the league by far. For a team that emphasizes defense, it appeared the Wild specifically focused only on defense rather than even trying to score. "Star" winger Dany Heatley continues to play in the shadow of a contract that overpays him for the next two years. Mikko Koivu's deal isn't much better and runs for another six years.

Minnesota's style certainly won't get them on too many highlight reels, as they seem content to trap and counter attack with a dump, chase and hit style of play. Minnesota would be best served to move Dany Heatley for some players better suited for the Wild's style of play.

Fatal flaw: Zero offense.

Remedy: Move Heatley for players more conducive to Mike Yeo's style of play.

Montreal Canadiens

The New York Yankees of hockey have a tradition and a fan base like no other. Unfortunately for all, their 2011-12 season was also like no other. Not in a good way either. The 103rd season in franchise history was forgettable to say the least, as the Canadiens missed the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

Carey Price stood on his head regularly to keep Montreal competitive, but Les Habitants were the lesser team on the ice more often than not. With a respectable goal differential (-14), Montreal can certainly rebuild around Price. Max Pacioretty recovered incredibly from his gruesome, broken neck injury for a breakout season with 33 goals and a team high 65 points.

Montreal has a solid core to build around, but needs to get production from the player with the biggest salary, Scott Gomez. With his atrocity of a contract, Gomez can silence his detractors simply by being marginally productive. With a young core and new leadership, the Canadiens won't be irrelevant for long. The NHL is better when Montreal is a player, and they should bounce back in 2012-13.

Front office and coaching instability were factors that hurt the team. (Former/interim) Coach Randy Cunneyworth failed to inspire his team, and Montreal is best served to appoint someone to the post ASAP.

Fatal flaw- It would be easy to blame Scott Gomez, but I can't. I'll attach blame to upper management and coaching

Remedy- The Canadiens cleaned house, literally, at the end of the season. Marc Bergevin was named General Manager, and a coach has yet to be named. The Canadiens have talent, they just need direction. A new coach needs to be named before the Canadiens can get completely back on track.

Nashville Predators

The Predators looked to be taking a giant step forward  when they eliminated their nemesis, the Detroit Red Wings, in this year's playoffs. With key players eligible for different levels of free agency, Nashville's future looked as bright as ever. Alexander Radulov returned from his self-imposed exile in the KHL to hop on the Music City bandwagon on it's way to the Stanley Cup. Pekka Rinne was playing like a Vezina trophy candidate and catfish were flying from the rafters

Enter the Phoenix Coyotes and Mike Smith. Five games later, the Predators are wondering what went wrong. A late night sojourn by a pair of wayward Russians grabbed the headlines, but Nashville failed to match the intensity they displayed in the first round against the Red Wings.

The Predators have all the pieces they need to make another run next year, but they only have 12 players under contract after July 1. Restricted free agent Shea Weber will be a priority, but so will unrestricted free agent Ryan Suter. Nashville was hoping that a sustained playoff run would cement their place as a legitimate Cup contender, at least in Suter's eyes. Now, they'll face their toughest opponent yet: Free Agency.

Fatal flaw: Nashville looked unstoppable against Detroit, but lacked intensity and focus against Phoenix. Radulov also seemed to disrupt chemistry and looked unmotivated at times.

Remedy: The Preds need to do whatever it takes to keep this core together. They can beat anyone, on any ice, any time. They will need to break the bank to keep Suter, but they also have about eight other roster spots to fill. Free agency can make or break them.

New Jersey Devils

New Jersey flew under the radar all year as the Rangers, Penguins and Flyers took most of the headlines. 2011-12 saw the re-emergence of Ilya Kovalchuk as a premier goal scorer, as he led the Devils in scoring. His chemistry with Patrick Elias and Zach Parise has helped the Devils run deep into the Eastern Conference Finals. Martin Brodeur was awful in October and November, but has been lights out when it matters most.

The Devils run in this year's playoffs could be a swan song for pending free agents Brodeur and Parise. While Brodeur has stated that he has "a few years left", Johan Hedberg was stellar when Brodeur wasn't earlier in the year.

Brodeur isn't going anywhere, though. As the cornerstone of the franchise, he'll probably take a cap-friendly discount to stay. The same probably can't be said for Parise. Eligible for a huge free agent payday, Parise will be able to pick and choose his destination next year. The Devils' financial woes could cripple them in the bidding for Parise's long term services.

Fatal flaw: Front office financial issues could be disastrous.

Remedy: ???? Somebody call Mark Cuban, Donald Trump or Mikhail Prokhorov.

New York Islanders

It's easy to write off the Islanders as the ugly step-sister of the Rangers. Missing the playoffs was certainly not a shocker for the perennially rebuilding club. However, the Isles' competitive fire late in the season did catch several playoff teams off guard.

An off-Broadway production in the 2012-13 playoffs is definitely a possibility, as the Islanders have built a solid core around franchise center John Tavares. Evgeni Nabokov was solid in goal, but the Isles need some defense in front of him to get to the next level.

Fatal flaw: Defense. Islanders need some solid defensemen in front of Nabokov. More consistent goal scoring from the big guns.

Remedy: Only one defenseman on the Islanders roster is over 6'2 or 210 lbs. There are plenty of big bodied veterans in free agency for reasonable prices.

New York Rangers

The Rangers seem to be as complete a team as any in the NHL. Though they were pushed to seven games in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs, they emerged victorious each time.

The Rangers have skilled players throughout the first two lines and grinders/checkers on the second two. They can drop the gloves if needed  and won't ever get pushed around with big bodies like Mike Rupp, Brian Boyle and Marc Staal.

The defense has really stepped up this year with Michael del Zotto and Ryan McDonagh emerging as one of the top pairs in the league. Backstopping the blueshirts is Henrik Lundqvist who seems to finally be putting up some postseason success to match his regular season prowess.

Not sure where the Rangers will end up, but they certainly have to be considered the favorites of the four remaining teams.

Fatal flaws: Playoff chops. These Rangers are in uncharted territory.

Remedy: They are playing hungry, and every game adds experience.

Ottawa Senators

Ottawa had a solid season under first year coach and Jack Adams nominee Paul MacLean. Finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference, the Senators gave the New York Rangers everything they could handle before bowing out in seven games.

Blending youth and experience, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year in Ottawa. A resurgent, and healthy, Jason Spezza and defenseman Erik Karlsson led a high scoring Senators' attack. Opportunities definitely exist in the defensive zone.

The Sens stepped it up in the playoffs, but the regular season saw goalie Craig Anderson working too hard to keep Ottawa in contention.

Fatal flaw: Youth on defense, rookie coach

Remedy: A solid series against the Rangers will build confidence moving forward. MacLean was fantastic in his first season as an NHL coach and will only get better.

Philadelphia Flyers

Philadelphia's season could have gone down the crapper before it even started. Trading away the teams' top two players before the season had the Flyers faithful scratching their heads. Paul Holmgren's moves paid off as the Flyers made some noise in the Eastern Conference before falling to the Devils.

The goaltending issues that were solved by bringing in Ilya Bryzgalov, turned into a $51 million problem when Bryzgalov was awful early. Though he eventually settled down and had a nice final two months, Bryzgalov was bad in the playoffs.

The series with the Penguins, he was victimized by poor defense, but against the Devils, some poor decisions put the bullseye back on the Russian keeper.

Fatal flaw:Inexperience in the playoffs. Giroux's immature suspension hit on Zubrus will be remembered more than his series against Pittsburgh. Oh and goaltending.

Remedy: Bryzgalov will be better next year after having a year to get accustomed to Philly.

Phoenix Coyotes

Possibly the most dysfunctional franchise in hockey is four wins away from a Stanley Cup berth. How awesome is that? Coach Dave Tippett has used the "us vs the world" philosophy and galvanized a team that Moses might have had trouble guiding through the desert. Hey, Gretzky couldn't do it. Just sayin'.

With the most recognizable player a fourth line scrapper who is more popular on the interweb than he is in Phoenix, the Coyotes are the very definition of a team. The "us before me" mentality has seen Phoenix reach heights that the franchise has never seen, even when they were Jets, literally.

Goalie Mike Smith has been the hero of the Coyotes so far. Bailing the Phoenix defense out nightly has become a walk in the park for the journeyman goaltender. He has been at or near the top of NHL goalies statistically throughout the year, and his numbers have improved during the playoffs.

Fatal flaw: Instability in ownership. Let's be honest, they could use a young goal scorer too.

Remedy: New owner is working on a deal currently in progress. Hopefully this time, it's for good.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Would the real Marc-Andre Fleury please stand up? The Penguins hit the playoffs in stride and were considered by many to be the favorites to lift the Cup in June.

The highest scoring team in the league then proceeded to play six beer-league level, brawl filled games against their hated rivals in Philadelphia. 42 wins, a 2.36 GAA and a .913 save percentage during the regular season was a far cry from the 2 wins, 4.63 GAA and.834 save percentage Fleury had in the playoffs.

While Fleury was the victim of some terrible defense, his play was shaky at best, leaving some questions for the offseason.

Fatal flaw: Goaltending may be an issue if Fleury lost his mojo. Some late season meltdowns against the Islanders preceded the awful Philly series.

Remedy: A fresh start and a new season could be just what Fleury needs.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks 2011-12 season was a train wreck and it got worse as they went out with a whimper against the St. Louis Blues in Round 1. While everyone is calling for the heads of GM Doug Wilson and coach Todd McLellan, the Sharks may need to revamp their roster this offseason.

They missed a division title by only one point, but the team's progression seems to be more regression lately. Erratic goalie play in the regular and postseason may need to be addressed if the Sharks want to be legitimate contenders again. A roster full of aging Sharks need to either have their cages individually rattled or be moved to blue(er) waters.

Finishing the season with three straight wins, San Jose started the playoffs with an overtime win in St. Louis. Unfortunately, four straight losses to the second seeded Blues sank the Sharks.

Fatal flaw: Stale roster. Goaltending.

Remedy: With a GM and a coach already on the hot seat, look for the Sharks to be active in the offseason.

St. Louis Blues

A slow start to the season saw the end of the Davis Payne era and the return of Ken Hitchcock to the Central Division. Hitchcock's hire brought immediate dividends as the Blues went 7-1-2 in his first 10 games.

The two-headed goalie monster featuring Jaro Halak and the surprising Brian Elliott anchored Hitchcock's defense-first philosophy. With the strength of their top-rated goalie tandem, the Blues cruised to a Central Division crown and the second best point total in the NHL. As the number two seed in the Western Conference the Blues beat the Sharks 4-1 in the first round before getting swept by the Kings in the second round.

In spite of the Blues great record, they were a surprise to most hockey experts. With the goalie situation under control, the Blues could definitely use some more scoring. Even with a defense-first philosophy, goals still need to be scored to win.

Fatal flaw: Need more goal scoring.

Remedy: Two twenty goal scorers on the roster won't be enough to sustain long term success in the NHL.

Tampa Bay Lightning

After a solid, but somewhat surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, there were high hopes for Tampa Bay this season. Inconsistency and injuries cost the Lightning dearly, but it was goaltending that hurt them the most.

Tampa had to make a choice last summer on which goaltender to keep. GM Steve Yzerman went with Dwayne Roloson after his strong effort in the playoffs. While nobody could have predicted the success of Mike Smith in Phoenix, Roloson was every bit as disappointing in Tampa.

The Lightning put plenty of pucks in the net with Stamkos, St. Louis and Lecavalier, but couldn't keep very many out of their own net. This offseason's focus is a no-brainer as Tampa will turn their attention to finding their next starting goalie.

Fatal flaw: Goaltending.

Remedy: Lots of options for GM Steve Yzerman this summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs

WIth their annual spring collapse, the Toronto Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the seventh consecutive season. Riding the high scoring tandem of Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, the Leafs looked poised to punch their ticket to the post season through January.

However, a 10-18-4 record through the last three plus months spelled doom for the Original Six franchise. Replacing Ron Wilson with Randy Carlyle in March couldn't save the Leafs from disaster.

Toronto lit the lamp with regularity even after they stopped winning, but their opponents did so with more frequency. The Maple Leafs goaltending situation isn't quite as bad as Tampa's, but Toronto needs to find an answer unless they are planning on staying home for next season's playoffs too.

Fatal flaw: Goaltending.

Remedy: Get a new goalie. Three goals a game allowed won't cut it.

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are the Boston Bruins of the West...or vice versa: Stanley Cup favorites eliminated in the first round with a potential goalie controversy. A strong regular season couldn't save the Canucks from a first round meltdown against the suddenly lethal Kings of Los Angeles. At least the Bruins went seven games back east.

Vancouver had the best record in the league, and it certainly wasn't by accident. Pulling goalie Roberto Luongo was the right move, and Cory Schneider is the future in the Pacific Northwest.

The Canucks still have one of the most talented and complete rosters in the league. Their loss to the Kings was a combination of a bad matchup and a scoring outage. A concussion to Daniel Sedin certainly didn't help things.

Fatal flaw: Divided locker room amid goalie controversy. First round exit was more of a matchup issue than a Vancouver deficiency.

Remedy: Addition by subtraction/trade. Roberto Luongo should fetch some nice trade offers.

Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals season was marked by equal parts underachievement and disappointment. The Capitals got off to a terrible start which led to a coaching change and Dale Hunter's hire. Earlier today Dale Hunter stepped down after leading the Capitals to the playoffs and a second round Game 7 loss to the top seeded Rangers.

A silver lining for the Capitals would be the emergence of rookie goaltender Braden Holtby. Holtby matched his All-World adversary Henrik Lundqvist save for save throughout the series. The Capitals' goal scoring issues continued into the playoffs, which may have had as much to do with their opponents as their own play.

Hunter may have found the formula to address the Capitals' biggest weakness for his successor. His handling of Alex Ovechkin throughout the playoffs seemed to light a fire under the captain, bringing out a passion he had lacked all year.

Fatal flaw: Motivation. With all that talent, Washington should have been better all season.

Remedy: The Capitals' next coach better bring Matt Foley-motivational speaker along with him. Hunter seemed to be puppet-master extraordinaire with the Caps moody stars.

Winnipeg Jets

The return to hockey in Winnipeg was certainly one of the high points of the 2011-12 season. The fact that the Jets were logging more time in airplanes than the Royal Canadian Air Force, probably not a highlight. The Winnipeg Jets playing in the NHL's Southeast Division is obviously an aberration that will be fixed sooner than later. The Jets were game, though, and were playoff hopefuls until the last week of the season.

Winnipeg got some great offensive production from Blake Wheeler and Evander Kane and balanced scoring from the rest of the roster. The Jets' defense let them down more often than not, and inconsistent play in goal cost them a shot at the post season.

Though we'd like to blame jet lag on Ondrej Pavelec's mediocrity, his numbers in Atlanta weren't much better.

Fatal flaw: Better goaltending. Pavelec and Mason aren't consistent.

Remedy: Plenty of free agent options. Pavelec's 2.91 GAA isn't good enough.