The 10 NHL Teams Most Likely to Decline in the 2016-17 Season

Every year, all NHL teams open the season with a clean slate.

Almost universally, organizations and their fanbases believe that their team's offseason changes will improving its standing—whether that means crawling out of the league cellar, pushing into the playoff hunt or becoming serious championship contenders.

Some teams will indeed climb up the standings this year. Others will drop, leaving fans disappointed and management groups eager to shake things up—if, in fact, they're still employed.

Whether it's due to injuries, declining rosters or increased inter-division competition, these 10 teams are at risk of sliding down the NHL standings this season.

The franchises are listed alphabetically. Are there any others that you think will take a step backward in 2016-17?

Anaheim Ducks

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2015-16 Outcome: 103 points, first in Pacific Division, eliminated by Nashville Predators in first round of playoffs

Key Offseason Changes: Randy Carlyle replaced Bruce Boudreau as head coach; G Frederik Andersen replaced by G Jonathan Bernier 

Why Fans Should Worry: Let's start with those two unsigned restricted free agents. The Anaheim Ducks' 2016-17 regular-season schedule kicks off on Thursday, but defenseman Hampus Lindholm and winger Rickard Rakell are both still without contracts. 

Rackell's 20 goals tied him for third in scoring last season on a Ducks team that ranked 18th overall offensively, while Lindholm's 10 goals were tops among Anaheim defensemen.

Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reported October 11 that the Ducks are still not close to signing either player. Both are at their offseason homes in Sweden and, additionally, Rakell remains in rehab mode after surgery to remove scar tissue that developed after his appendectomy last March.

If and when Rakell returns, the Ducks will still be thin at forward. Veterans Shawn Horcoff, Mike Santorelli, David Perron, Jamie McGinn, Chris Stewart and Brandon Pirri have all moved on. Anaheim starts the season with Mason Raymond, Antoine Vermette, Jared Boll and youngsters Nick Ritchie, Nick Sorensen and Joseph Cramarossa as their replacements.

In addition, excellent structural coach Bruce Boudreau has been replaced behind the bench by old-school motivator Randy Carlyle. Also, the Ducks' most reliable goaltender for the past two seasons, Frederik Andersen, has been replaced by Jonathan Bernier.

The Ducks are in danger of scoring fewer goals and surrendering many more. That's a recipe for a slide down the standings.

Boston Bruins

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2015-16 Outcome: 93 points, fourth in Atlantic Division, missed playoffs for second consecutive season

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Loui Eriksson, RW Lee Stempniak and D Dennis Seidenberg; added RW David Backes, RW Riley Nash and C Dominic Moore

Why Fans Should Worry: The Boston Bruins haven't made the playoffs since they won the Presidents' Trophy in 2013-14. There's no reason to believe that this year's club is going to be any better than the one that got beat out by the Detroit Red Wings for third place in the Atlantic Division last spring.

Defensive experience is an issue behind Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug. John-Michael Liles, 35, is the team's third-highest-paid defenseman—the rest of the crew is 23 or younger. Up front, the Bruins decided to forego re-signing Loui Eriksson and his 30 goals in favour of bringing in power forward David Backes, who's better known for his strong leadership and physical game.

Boston will be without stalwart Patrice Bergeron for its season opener due to what coach Claude Julien is calling a "minor" lower-body injury, according to Joe Haggerty of CSNNE.com. Though the team is thrilled to welcome back Brad Marchand after his breakout 37-goal season and stellar performance at the World Cup of Hockey, it looks like nothing will come easy for the Bruins this season.

Columbus Blue Jackets

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2015-16 Outcome: 76 points, eighth in Metropolitan Division, missed playoffs for second consecutive season

Key Offseason Changes: lost D Fedor Tyutin, D Justin Falk, RW Jared Boll; added C Pierre-Luc Dubois, C Sam Gagner, D Scott Harrington

Why Fans Should Worry: The Columbus Blue Jackets entered the 2015-16 season with high expectations after a strong finish one year earlier. After an 0-7-0 start, the team replaced coach Todd Richards with John Tortorella on October 21, less than two weeks into the campaign.

Torts went 34-33-8 the rest of the way but became the object of scorn in September when he was unable to win a game behind the bench of Team USA during the World Cup of Hockey. 

With Tortorella treading water as a coach and the Blue Jackets in a salary-cup jail that prevented them from making any meaningful upgrades to their club during the offseason, expect to see the situation get worse in Columbus before it can get any better.

Dallas Stars

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2015-16 Outcome: 109 points, first in Central Division, lost to Nashville Predators in Round 2 of playoffs

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Valeri Nichushkin, C Vern Fiddler, D Alex Goligoski, D Jason Demers and D Kris Russell; added D Dan Hamhuis and LW Jiri Hudler

Why Fans Should Worry: After a monumental 17-point rise in 2015-16 to lock down the top spot in the ultra-competitive Central Division, the Dallas Stars are due to come back to earth before firmly establishing themselves as a team to beat in the Western Conference.

Issue No. 1 for the Stars is the health of their top players. For the second straight summer, captain Jamie Benn had surgery—this time to repair a core muscle. The recovery process was enough to keep him out of the World Cup of Hockey.

Meanwhile, Benn's partner in crime Tyler Seguin ended last season on injured reserve due to an Achilles issue, then was knocked out of the World Cup during the preliminary round with a hairline fracture of his heel.

Mike Heika of SportsDay reports that, while Seguin didn't play any preseason games, he should be ready to go for the season-opener on Thursday. If Seguin and/or Benn aren't ready to start the year at 100 percent, that'll be a setback for the team.

Other areas of concern—the Stars lost three veteran blueliners during the offseason and added just one, Dan Hamhuis, to assist a goaltending duo of Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi that recorded the league's 20th-best goals-against last season.

If the Stars don't get full production from their forwards or their transition to a younger blue line falters, it's going to be a long season in Big D.

Florida Panthers

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2015-16 Outcome: 103 points, first in Atlantic Division, lost to New York Islanders in Round 1 of playoffs

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Teddy Purcell, D Willie Mitchell, D Brian Campbell, D Erik Gudbranson, D Dmitry Kulikov; added G James Reimer, C Jared McCann, D Keith Yandle, D Jason Demers, D Mark Pysyk

Why Fans Should Worry: Like the Stars, the Florida Panthers are in danger of taking a step backward after gaining 14 points in the standings last season and catapulting from a non-playoff position all the way up to first place in their division.

Florida management wants to take a run at winning it all before the best-before dates of players like Jaromir Jagr and Roberto Luongo expire. As such, the back end was overhauled during the offseason, creating a new-look defense and giving Luongo more support with James Reimer sharing the crease.

But the Panthers start the season with key injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad as they work to establish the chemistry of their roster. With Atlantic rivals like the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning on track to put subpar seasons behind them, expect the Panthers to slide in their division standings—and possibly find themselves in tough to make the playoffs again this season.

Los Angeles Kings

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2015-16 Outcome: 102 points, second in Pacific Division, eliminated by San Jose Sharks in first round of playoffs

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Milan Lucic, LW Kris Versteeg, C Vinnie Lecavalier, D Luke Schenn, D Jamie McBain, G Jhonas Enroth; added RW Teddy Purcell, D Tom Gilbert, G Jeff Zatkoff

Why Fans Should Worry: The Los Angeles Kings boast three of the best players in the world at their respective positions—center Anze Kopitar, defenseman Drew Doughty and goaltender Jonathan Quick. Unfortunately, that may not be enough to keep the Kings in the playoff mix this season in the Pacific Division.

Los Angeles fell short in the playoffs last spring even with a top line that boasted Milan Lucic and Marian Gaborik. Now, Lucic is an Oiler and Gaborik is on injured reserve—again—after breaking his foot during the World Cup of Hockey.

Tight as ever to the salary cap, the Kings haven't been able to successfully replace the talent they've lost since their last Stanley Cup win in 2014. On opening night, the news got even worse when goaltender Quick left the game after one period with a lower-body injury, per Brodie Brazil of CSN.

New arrival Jeff Zatkoff, the net's all yours. If Quick is out for any period of time, its puts L.A.'s playoff hopes in a deep hole before the year is scarcely underway.

New York Islanders

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2015-16 Outcome: 100 points, fourth in Metropolitan Division, lost to Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2 of playoffs

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Kyle Okposo, C Frans Nielsen, LW Matt Martin; added LW Andrew Ladd, LW Jason Chimera, RW PA Parenteau, D Dennis Seidenberg

Why Fans Should Worry: The New York Islanders' first season at their new home at Barclays Center in Brooklyn was a success. Led by captain John Tavares, the Isles recorded their second straight season with 100 points of more—and they won their first playoff series since 1993, beating the Florida Panthers in six games in the first round before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But the Islanders' offseason personnel changes will make it hard for them to stay on the upswing. The team added a prize in Andrew Ladd, but lost longtime stalwarts Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin—big skates to fill.

Jaroslav Halak came back from a season-ending injury with a stellar performance for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey, but that alone might not be enough. The Islanders will get shuffled down the deck in the ever-swirling Metropolitan Division and will be at risk of missing the playoffs this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins

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2015-16 Outcome: 104 points, second in Metropolitan Division, won Stanley Cup

Key Offseason Changes: lost RW Beau Bennett, D Ben Lovejoy, G Jeff Zatkoff; no additions

Why Fans Should Worry: Like several other teams on this list, early-season injury news is a cause for concern. In the case of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the issue is the concussion that struck Sidney Crosby during a preseason practice and will keep him out of the team's season-opening game, according to Wes Crosby of NHL.com.

After winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup run last spring and captaining Team Canada to a win at the World Cup of Hockey in September, Crosby's game has never looked better. If he's out for any period of time, he'll be missed by the Penguins.

But Crosby's health isn't the team's only concern. Their No. 1 goalie from the playoff run, Matt Murray, is also still on the shelf after an injury during the World Cup.

Also, the Pens group that jelled so successfully when Mike Sullivan took over as their coach last winter will be entering new territory as league champions. They're back at work after just a short offseason rest, now the target of every other team and no longer with the element of surprise on their side.

For nearly two decades, no team has been able to repeat as Stanley Cup champion. It's unlikely that the Penguins will be the team to break that streak next spring.

San Jose Sharks

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2015-16 Outcome: 98 points, third in Pacific Division, reached Stanley Cup Final

Key Offseason Changes: lost D Roman Polak, G James Reimer; added RW Mikkel Boedker, D David Schlemko

Why Fans Should Worry: Two big changes led to the San Jose Sharks' return to the playoff picture and their first-ever appearance in the Stanley Cup Final in 2016—a new voice behind the bench in the form of Peter DeBoer and a new goaltender in net by the name of Martin Jones.

DeBoer and Jones anchored a Sharks team that relied on its core veterans like Joe Thornton, Logan Couture and Joe Pavelski even as it integrated new faces like Joel Ward and Paul Martin. The end result was a nine-point improvement in the regular-season standings and that surprising playoff run.

Like Pittsburgh, though, the Sharks will no longer be able to fly under the radar. They're now the team to beat in the West, which will make every opponent play a little harder.

Look for the Sharks to endure some rough patches and take a dip in the standings, but to still be in the Western Conference mix when playoff time arrives.

Washington Capitals

Karl B DeBlaker/Associated Press

2015-16 Outcome: 120 points, first in Metropolitan Division, won Presidents' Trophy, lost to Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2

Key Offseason Changes: lost LW Jason Chimera, C Mike Richards, C Michael Latta; added C Lars Eller, RW Brett Connolly

Why Fans Should Worry: The Washington Capitals are well-equipped to take another run at the Stanley Cup next spring, but they may not do it with the same dominant flair that they laid down last season.

The Caps were the class of the league during the regular season—executing their systems beautifully as they lost a league-low 18 games in regulation and prepared for a long playoff run. Just one problem with that plan—a second-round meeting with the unstoppable Pittsburgh Penguins.

This year, the Caps have a little more depth at forward thanks to the addition of Lars Eller. Other than that, they're basically the same team.

They'll decline because they take their foot off the gas a bit during the regular season—not as focused on that Presidents' Trophy or home-ice advantage through the playoffs. But the goal will be to have a little extra energy in reserve when the postseason arrives this time around.

All stats courtesy of NHL.com.