NHL Teams That Missed the Opportunity to Improve Their Rosters This Summer

In the hockey world, one of the few constants is change.

During games, lines are juggled, matchups are tweaked and special teams and set plays are all deployed as coaches try to get the upper hand against their opponents.

During the offseason, the winds of change gust more strongly through teams' rosters—blowing out the players who are aging or underperforming while lifting the young and talented into more prominent situations.

As many teams around the league do what they can to get better, those that stand pat risk falling behind.

This summer, the exception may be the Pittsburgh Penguins, who capped off a year of tremendous change both on and off the ice by hoisting the Stanley Cup in June. The Pens might be able to keep things status quo for a minute as everyone else tries to catch up.

But what about the rest? There are teams that haven't shared Pittsburgh's recent success that have failed to make bold moves that will improve their clubs' fortunes next season.

Here's a look at the teams that face the biggest risk of backsliding in 2016-17 due to a less than impactful offseason so far.

Anaheim Ducks

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2015-16 Results: 46-25-11, 103 points, first in Pacific Division, eliminated in first round of playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: replaced coach Bruce Boudreau with Randy Carlyle, traded G Frederik Andersen, acquired G Jonathan Bernier, signed UFAs Mason Raymond and Jared Boll 

Salary-Cap Situation: $9.3 million in cap space with 19 players signed, per General Fanager

To-Do List: sign RFAs Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm, trade a defenseman

After their first-round playoff loss to the Nashville Predators in April, the Anaheim Ducks' big move was to replace coach Bruce Boudreau with his predecessor. Randy Carlyle had been out of work for more than a year after being terminated by the Toronto Maple Leafs in January 2015, but he had one item on his resume that no other coach could match—he'd led the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup win back in 2007.

The Ducks have plenty of cap space to sign their restricted free agents, Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm, but the team operates on an internal budget, so don't expect to see Anaheim spend to the cap ceiling.

As things stand right now, the Ducks are also vulnerable to losing a top-four defenseman in next spring's expansion draft. Anaheim will almost certainly deal a key blueliner at some point this season rather than lose him for nothing next June.

The Ducks swapped solid Frederik Andersen for an inferior replacement in Jonathan Bernier due to salary-cap and expansion-draft issues. With a nearly certain downgrade coming on defense as well, don't expect to see Anaheim lead the league in goals-against average for a second straight season in 2016-17.

Boston Bruins

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2015-16 Results: 42-31-9, 93 points, fourth in Atlantic Division, missed playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: signed UFAs David Backes and Anton Khudobin, re-signed UFA John-Michael Liles and RFA Torey Krug

Salary-Cap Situation: $6.7 million in cap space with 21 players signed, per General Fanager 

To-Do List: sign Brad Marchand to a contract extension, improve the blue line

The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011 and the Presidents' Trophy in 2013-14 but are now a team in transition after missing the playoffs for the last two years.

Boston has a nice collection of young prospects, but so far, only David Pastrnak has shown that he's able to contribute consistently at the NHL level. General manager Don Sweeney chose to replace Loui Eriksson's goal-scoring touch with the grittier style of David Backes, which could leave the Bruins short on goals unless one of the kids takes a big step forward. Brad Marchand's impending free agency will be a distraction until a new deal is done.

At the end of the regular season, Tim Rosenthal of Boston.com suggested that the Bruins should be looking to acquire a young, top-four defenseman, but so far, the only difference on the back end has been the buyout of Dennis Seidenberg. 

Unless Sweeney is able to make one or two good acquisitions before the season begins, it's unlikely that the 2016-17 Bruins will be any better than last year's model.

Los Angeles Kings

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2015-16 Results: 48-28-6, 102 points, second in Pacific Division, eliminated in first round of playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: reassigned captaincy from Dustin Brown to Anze Kopitar, signed coach Darryl Sutter to contract extension, signed UFAs Teddy Purcell, Tom Gilbert and Jeff Zatkoff, extended pending UFA Trevor Lewis

Salary-Cap Situation: $29,773 in cap space with 25 players signed, per General Fanager 

To-Do List: complete

The Los Angeles Kings have a full roster and virtually no wiggle room against the salary cap, but it's hard to say that the team has improved since its inauspicious five-game loss to the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

GM Dean Lombardi gambled big when he gave up Martin Jones, Colin Miller and a first-round draft pick to acquire Milan Lucic during the summer of 2015. Though Lucic fit in well on the Kings' first line, Jones became part of the team's undoing after he landed with the Sharks and ultimately outdueled the goaltender he used to back up, Jonathan Quick.

After Lucic chose big money, long-term security and a chance to play with Connor McDavid on the Edmonton Oilers over the situation that was presented to him in Southern California, Lombardi was left with nothing to show from last year's bold move.

The Kings were spared from handing out a big contract to Lucic, but they quickly filled what little cap space they had, extending Trevor Lewis and signing budget free agents Teddy Purcell, Tom Gilbert and Jeff Zatkoff.

Though Drew Doughty plays huge minutes, the smooth-skating 26-year-old has missed only 16 games due to injury in his entire eight-year NHL career. The Kings will need Doughty to stay healthy if they hope to once again be one of the stingiest teams in the NHL. 

Ottawa Senators

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2015-16 Results: 38-35-9, 85 points, fifth in Atlantic Division, missed playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: replaced coach Dave Cameron with Guy Boucher, traded C Mika Zibanejad for C Derick Brassard, signed UFA Chris Kelly

Salary-Cap Situation: $8.9 million in cap space with 22 players signed, per General Fanager

To-Do List: sign RFA Cody Ceci

The Ottawa Senators allowed 247 goals against in 2015-16, third-worst in the league. Despite the poor showing, it looks like the team's defense and goaltending will remain unchanged from last season after Cody Ceci re-signs, likely on a two-year deal, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.

A blockbuster trade to acquire Dion Phaneuf in February did nothing to help the Senators challenge for a playoff spot. The team was 25-23-6 before the trade, averaging 1.04 points per game; after Phaneuf was acquired, the Sens went 13-12-3—also averaging 1.04 points per game.

A new system from Guy Boucher may help Ottawa tighten up defensively, and local boy Derick Brassard could be a short-term upgrade over Mika Zibanejad down the middle. However, like the Bruins, the Sens look like they're treading water in the Atlantic Division.

Philadelphia Flyers

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2015-16 Results: 41-27-14, 96 points, fifth in Metropolitan Division, eliminated in first round of playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: signed UFAs Dale Weise and Boyd Gordon, re-signed RFAs Brayden Schenn, Radko Gudas and Brandon Manning, bought out R.J. Umberger

Salary-Cap Situation: $1 million in cap space with 23 players signed, per General Fanager

To-Do List: complete

In Dave Hakstol's first season behind the bench, the Philadelphia Flyers improved by 12 points in the standings, squeezed back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture and offered fans some hope for the future in the form of Calder Trophy finalist Shayne Gostisbehere.

The Flyers are easing other young talent into their system, but the defense could use an upgrade as soon as possible. Mark Streit is now 38 years old, Michael Del Zotto missed 27 games at the end of last season due to wrist surgery and Andrew MacDonald spent more than half his season in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms while collecting $4.5 million in real salary and incurring a $5 million cap hit.

Fans are hoping that 19-year-old Ivan Provorov will be able to make the jump to the NHL after he outperformed the Flyers' other defensive prospects at the team's development camp, according to Tim Pannaccio of CSN Philly. But Provorov would have to be truly exceptional in preseason to warrant a roster spot on a team that's so tight to the cap, especially when he'll have to be sent back to junior if he doesn't crack the Philadelphia lineup.

GM Ron Hextall needs to free up some cap space and relieve the logjam on the blue line. If he can add a little extra scoring punch up front at the same time, all the better.

Winnipeg Jets

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2015-16 Results: 35-39-8, 78 points, seventh in Central Division, missed playoffs

Notable Offseason Moves: drafted Patrik Laine second overall, signed UFA Shawn Matthias, re-signed RFAs Mark Scheifele and Michael Hutchinson

Salary-Cap Situation: $7.6 million in cap space with 26 players signed, per General Fanager

To-Do List: re-sign RFA Jacob Trouba

The Winnipeg Jets dropped from 14th place in the NHL standings in 2014-15 to 25th last season, yet GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has refrained from making blockbuster moves to try to reignite the Jets.

An impressive young prospect pool should be able to make a bigger contribution, Patrik Laine could contribute right away and Chevy did well to lock up Mark Scheifele long term.

But trade rumours have swirled around restricted free agent Jacob Trouba for the better part of a year. Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun suggests that "it seems more likely at this stage of the game that Trouba will remain in the mix, get a contract signed and start the campaign on the left side with either [Dustin] Byfuglien or Tyler Myers." 

Young defensemen have been commanding big returns on the trade market. If the Jets can't ink Trouba to a sensible, long-term deal or he's not part of the team's long-term plans, did Cheveldayoff miss out on the moment when he could have sold high?

All stats from NHL.com. Salary information from General Fanager.