NHL Power Rankings: Rating Each Team on Its Likelihood of Improving This Summer

Ironically, it was two Sun Belt teams that made the most improvement this year.

The Phoenix Coyotes have become regulars the playoffs at this point, but won the Pacific for the first time in franchise history.

They took advantage of a poor division. The Sharks did not play as well as they used to, the Kings got hot late and the Stars and Ducks were too streaky to get into the postseason.

At the time, it looked like the Coyotes were lucky to get in, but they made a run and surprised everyone by making it to the Western Conference Finals and challenging the Los Angeles Kings.

On the other side of the country, the Florida Panthers also won their division for the first time and gave the Eastern Conference Champion Devils a run for their money in the opening round.

There are certain teams with strong cores that should see drastic improvement this season.

The Hurricanes and Ducks, two teams that finished last in their division, could potentially make a run at the playoffs next season.

In the Northwest Division, arguably the West’s weakest division last year, Colorado and even Edmonton might make a run at the postseason.

And don’t expect the Habs to be as bad as they were last season.

After all, it is the teams with the least to lose that should make the greatest improvements.

In the slideshow, teams are ranked based upon how much improvement they will make, not where they will finish in the final rankings.

Likelihood of improvement is ranked on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most likely to improve.

30. Columbus Blue Jackets

Last season: Fifth in Central, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 1/5

There are only two players with 20-plus goals on this squad" Rick Nash, who will probably leave, and RJ Umberger, who’s going to be pissed when Nash leaves.

Derick Brassard and Jack Johnson are both good players, but they can’t carry a team.

Columbus is in trouble.

29. New York Islanders

Last season: Fifth in Atlantic, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 1/5

There’s young talent, but it’s a tough division.

Even if John Tavares, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo just go off next season, it’s hard to seeing this team as a whole passing anyone in the Atlantic.

28. Phoenix Coyotes

Last season: First in Pacific, lost in Conference Finals

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

How long is Shane Doan going to be good? Will Ray Whitney be around?

Both players were among the top three scorers in Phoenix last season (Radim Vrbata was snug between them at No. 2), and they’re not getting any better.

Nobody is going to complain about the play of Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, two solid defensemen, but it’s hard to win if you can’t score.

27. Florida Panthers

Last season: First in Southeast, lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

I don’t mean to take away from what the Panthers did this season or what GM Dave Tallon has done in the past, but I don’t see this team taking the division again.

Washington and Tampa are better teams. If Alex Ovechkin finds his game again and Guy Boucher works his magic, those two teams will pass Florida in the division.

26. Calgary Flames

Last season: Second in Northwest, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

There’s a new face behind the bench. Bob Harley will be coaching the Flames next year, but that’s far from enough to turn this team’s fortunes around.

Jarome Iginla was this team’s leading scorer last season, as is to be expected, and Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay are pulling their weight, but all three of those players are on the wrong side of 30.

Eventually, this team will need to get young. Then, it will improve.

25. Minnesota Wild

Last season: 4^th Northwest, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

The Wild will be in the bottom half of the division next year.

There’s talent there, it’s whether the young players can improve and if the older players can stay healthy.

Mikko Koivu, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Guillaume Latendresse all played less than 60 games last season. Latendresse played less than 20.

24. Toronto Maple Leafs

Last season: Fourth in Northeast, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

Of course, there are gifted players on this team—Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf can all play—but talent is never really the problem in Toronto.

Dysfunction, in short, seems to always kill this team.

Maybe this year will be different. Leafs fans certainly hope so.

23. New Jersey Devils

Last season: Fourth in Atlantic, Stanley Cup Finalist

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

Unless they can hang on to Zach Parise, this team is in trouble.

New York and Detroit are going to do what they can to bring the superstar into town, and other teams, like Minnesota, will take a jab at him.

New Jersey needs to do what it has to in order to keep him in town.

22. Nashville Predators

Last season: Second in Central, lost in Conference Semifinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 2/5

Unless they can keep Ryan Suter and Shea Weber in town long-term, this team is going to have trouble getting past the second round.

There are a lot of good things going on in Nashville, but it needs to keep its stars on the roster in order to take a step forward.

21. Dallas Stars

Last season: Fourth in Pacific, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

The Pacific Division is up for grabs, and while the Stars may not win it, they were almost there last year and are knocking on the playoff door.

It didn’t help that Brenden Morrow only played 57 games, but Loui Eriksson, Mike Ribiero, Jamie Benn and Michael Ryder all put up big numbers.

This team is almost there.

20. Vancouver Canucks

Last season: First in Northwest, last in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

This team has the right personnel to win, especially in a weak division.

That’s not the concern in Vancouver.

The concern is whether Alain Vigneault will bring the locker room together after signing an extension…if Luongo is going to remain on the team…et cetera.

19. Montreal Canadiens

Last season: Fifth in Northeast, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Max Pacioretty and Erik Cole put up numbers last year, and PK Subban is a solid defenseman, but otherwise, this team struggled.

Tomas Plekanec and Travis Moen should convalesce in the offseason and, well, the Habs can’t get much worse, so it’s only gets better from here.

I’m not promising they’ll make the playoffs, but they should improve.

18. Winnipeg Jets

Last season: Fourth in Southeast, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Blake Wheeler, Evander Kane, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd all put up numbers last season, and it’s not hard to see this team improving next season.

My guess is they’ll be knocking at the door come playoff time.

17. Boston Bruins

Last season: First in Northwest, Lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Yeah, they’ve got that weird Tim Thomas thing going, but that should not be too big of a loss. Tuukka Rask was a starter before, and he should jump in and be just fine.

Tyler Seguin, 20, was the team’s leading scorer this season, which is a good thing, and Patrice Bergeron, 26, and Brad Marchand, 24, both put up big numbers this season.

Unless there is a big likelihood of improvement in Ottawa or Buffalo, the Bruins should take the division next season and are likely to get past the quarterfinals.

16. Tampa Bay Lightning

Last season: Third in Southeast, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Teams appear to have figured out Guy Boucher’s trap that got the team to the Eastern Conference quarterfinals two years ago. Boucher is considered one of the game’s brightest minds, however, and should find a way to win with Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Victor Hedman on his roster.

The question is, as it always is with Tampa, does it have enough talent surrounding those four players?

15. Washington Capitals

Last season: Second in Southeast, lost in Conference Semifinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

They play in a poor division and really should be favorites to win it next season.

The Caps are going to have to figure out philosophies and what to do with Alex Ovechkin, but his 38 goals last season were not shabby, and who knows what he would have done with more ice time in the playoffs.

Yes, there was a time when he would score 65 goals in a season (he had 65 points this year), and it’s hard to say that the Caps are a perennial contender anymore. People will probably predict a team from the Atlantic Division (not the Islanders, obviously) or the Boston Bruins to come out of the East.

That said, they’re still a good team.

14. San Jose Sharks

Last season: Second in Pacific, lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Hockey fans in San Jose have become accustomed to the Sharks winning their division and going far in the playoffs, and certainly, there is disappointment there.

Still, this team had three 30-goal scorers—Logan Couture, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski—and their leading point-getter, Joe Thornton, led the team with 77 points.

There is also rumor that they may be going after Rick Nash, and he would play well with Thornton.

13. Ottawa Senators

Last season: Second in Northeast, Lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek and Daniel Alfredsson all put up big numbers this season, and Erik Karlsson’s 78 points from the blue line are nothing to sneeze at.

The question is how much depth this team has.

12. Philadelphia Flyers

Last season: Third in Atlantic, lost in Conference Semifinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

There are two clouds lingering over the heads of hockey fans in Philadelphia:

Has Chris Pronger played his last game?

Can James van Riemsdyk stay healthy?

The team can probably get by without Pronger, but JVR has to stay healthy in order for this team to reach the next level next season.

11. Pittsburgh Penguins

Last season: Second Atlantic, lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

It all depends on the health of Sidney Crosby.

Evgeni Malkin will produce. James Neal will produce. Jordan Staal will produce.

But this team needs Crosby. He had 37 points in 22 regular season games last season.

10. Edmonton Oilers

Last season: Fifth in Northwest, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Jordan Eberle. Taylor Hall. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

All three players lead the Oilers in scoring, but they didn’t score enough.

This team is interesting. Technically, it has all the talent in the world because it's picked so high for so long, but it's not winning.

It’s hard to tell, but I believe that eventually the young core is going to figure it out.

9. Chicago Blackhawks

Last season: Fourth in Central, Lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 3/5

Fans in Chicago have to be concerned. The Stanley Cup championship of two years ago seems far, far away.

It might be closer than fans think, however. The Hawks still have Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews from the championship team.

All four were leading scorers—in that order.

Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook both will lock down on defense, and Nick Leddy looks like a budding star.

A first-round disappointment seems unlikely for Chicago next season.

8. Colorado Avalanche

Last season: Third in Northwest, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

Ryan O’Reilly should put up more points.

Paul Stastny should put up more points.

Matt Duchene should put up more points (he only played in 58 games).

Erik Johnson should put up more points.

You get where I’m going with this.

This team underachieved and should get better.

7. Buffalo Sabres

Last season: Third in Northwest, did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

With the new management, the Sabres cannot cry poor now. The owners have money and are willing to spend it.

Thomas Vanek needs to put up more points and Christian Ehrhoff needs to be more productive from the blue line, for sure, and this team tends to score by committee, which means they’ll expect bigger numbers from Drew Stafford, Derek Roy and Tyler Ennis.

This team will certainly improve if that all comes together.

6. St. Louis Blues

Last season: First in Central, Lost in Conference Semifinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

A strong core is only going to get better. Sure, nobody hit the 25-goal plateau, but they played well scoring by committee and have a system down that worked out for them.

It’s going to be tough to hold down the Central, but St. Louis still should be a playoff team next year even if it doesn't retain that title.

5. Los Angeles Kings

Last season: Third in Pacific, Stanley Cup Finalist

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

They made the Finals, and Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Dustin Brown are all in their prime.

That’s a recipe for success.

4. New York Rangers

Last season: 1^st Atlantic, Lost in Conference Finals

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

The Rangers have a good thing going.

Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards both stayed healthy and scored a combined 66 goals, and the young talent—Derek Stepan, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan McDonagh and Co.—are all improving as expected and should be around for a while.

New York should come back with a vengeance next season.

3. Detroit Red Wings

Last season: Third in Central, Lost in Conference Quarterfinals

Likelihood of Improvement: 4/5

Depends if they can get Ryan Suter or Zach Parise. Simple as that.

Nicklas Lidstrom is retiring (take a hint, Tim Thomas), and the core is aging.

Pulling off the Suter-Parise package is huge (of course).

2. Carolina Hurricanes

Last season: Fifth in Southeast, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 5/5

Jeff Skinner, Jamie McBain and Justin Faulk will all improve, and the team kept Tuomo Ruutu and Tim Gleason in town—indicating they are not rebuilding, but improving upon the core of players that they have.

1. Anaheim Ducks

Last season: Fifth in Pacific, Did not qualify

Likelihood of Improvement: 5/5

There is a good core in Anaheim. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan and Cam Fowler all are young and produced last season.

The biggest question for this club is whether or not Teemu Selanne, the team’s leading scorer last season, will retire.

If the Ducks can add some scoring depth, they will improve.

This division is suddenly up for grabs, and it’s not far-fetched to think that this team could go from worst to first in the Pacific.

Tom Schreier is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He covers baseball and hockey.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.

He also writes a weekly column at TheFanManifesto.com.