The five most improved NHL teams this offseason

Training camps loom. We approach the end of the “on paper” part of NHL offseason evaluation. But we’re not there yet. Hope can still spring eternal before teams start their training camps, play preseason games and begin to understand what they have for the coming season.

Right now, we can still judge every team theoretically by what it did in the offseason. Which teams, on paper, have improved the most?

I’ve identified five. It’s important not to confuse “most improved” with “offseason winner.” I don’t think every one of these teams necessarily should have improved, and I won’t even guarantee that each of these teams will go down as successes in 2023-24. But I do believe each got undeniably better over the summer.

5. Carolina Hurricanes

In: Dmitry Orlov, Michael Bunting, Tony DeAngelo, Caleb Jones

Out: Max Pacioretty, Ondrej Kase, Jesse Puljujarvi, Paul Stastny, Shayne Gostisbehere, Calvin de Haan

The Hurricanes understand that they’re wading into the Stanley-Cup-or-bust waters at this point. They’ve delivered six straight seasons of dominance under coach Rod Brind’Amour without a berth in the final to show for it. There isn’t a better defensive team in hockey, but the Canes needed some more firepower. Their lack of punch was exposed when Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov missed the 2023 playoffs with injuries. Ultra-agitator Michael Bunting adds dependable scoring touch to the top nine after delivering consecutive 23-goal seasons; remember, he showed offensive chops in Arizona before keeping elite linemate company in Toronto. Dmitry Orlov and Tony DeAngelo will help push the pace with their puck-moving on the back end, too. The Canes were already elite; perhaps their additions will give them that extra bit of push when they’re trying to break through and win it all this coming season.

4. Columbus Blue Jackets

In: Ivan Provorov, Damon Severson, Adam Fantilli, coach Mike Babcock

Out: No notable departures

Adding two top-four blueliners is a quick way to change your fate following a disastrous season. The same goes for having an elite prospect turn pro in Adam Fantilli, who had a freshman season for the ages playing against men in the NCAA en route to winning the 2022-23 Hobey Baker Award. But the Jackets also stand to improve simply with a turn in their luck. Their No. 1 defenseman, Zach Werenski, played just 13 games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last year. A full season of him alone will make a major impact. With top prospect David Jiricek also looking likely to break camp with the team, Columbus projects to have an entirely new top four on defense.

And while we may not like Mike Babcock’s methods, his style typically tends to make an impactful impression on a young team, at least in the short term. It would be extremely difficult for the Blue Jackets not to improve significantly in 2023-24 given how different they look.

3. Detroit Red Wings

In: Alex DeBrincat, J.T. Compher, Jeff Petry, Klim Kostin, Shayne Gostisbehere, Justin Holl, James Reimer, Daniel Sprong, Christian Fischer, Alex Lyon

Out: Dominik Kubalik, Pius Suter, Filip Zadina, Robert Hagg, Jordan Oesterle, Alex Nedeljkovic

For a second consecutive offseason, GM Steve Yzerman got busy. He evidently understands that, even for one of the franchise’s most legendary players, the runway eventually gets short for every GM. The Red Wings’ 25-year playoff streak has given way to a seven-year drought, and Yzerman seems hellbent on ending it. Big-ticket UFA addition J.T. Compher won’t match the offense he showed in Colorado playing with Mikko Rantanen, but Compher’s two-way game will strengthen a Detroit center group that already boasts Dylan Larkin and Andrew Copp. Alex DeBrincat, acquired from the Ottawa Senators, gives Larkin the best pure goal-scorer he’s played with to date. DeBrincat has a real chance to be Detroit’s first 40-goal contributor since Marian Hossa in 2007-08.

The Wings weren’t exactly knocking on the door of the playoffs last season, finishing 12 points out of contention at 35-37-10. But they’ve undoubtedly deepened themselves at every position. They look like a team that should score more and allow fewer goals this season. If one of their top prospects, such as center Marco Kasper or defenseman Simon Edvinsson, cracks the NHL roster, we could see the Wings jump to the Wildcard periphery.

2. Arizona Coyotes

In: Logan Cooley, Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Sean Durzi, Nick Bjugstad, Alexander Kerfoot, Troy Stecher, Zach Sanford, Travis Dermott

Out: Christian Fischer, Zack Kassian, Brett Ritchie, Patrik Nemeth, Connor Mackey, Laurent Dauphin, Jean-Sebastien Dea, Boko Imama

It’s so heartening to see the Coyotes try for a change rather than acting as a salary-cap dump for other teams. They showed hints of progress under well-liked coach Andre Tourigny last year, particularly when it came to their top line of Clayton Keller, Barrett Hayton and Nick Schmaltz, and they look so much deeper going into 2023-24. Jason Zucker and Alexander Kerfoot are proven top-nine NHL forwards. Matt Dumba and Sean Durzi will inject the D-corps with physicality and mobility. Most exciting, of course, was top prospect Logan Cooley reversing his decision to go back to school and turning pro. Connor Bedard will get the deserved rookie hype this season, but Cooley is a truly special talent in his own right. He alone could alter Arizona’s fate in short order. Could we see the Desert Dogs make a climb in a Central Division that looks top-heavy at the moment?

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

In: Erik Karlsson, Reilly Smith, Ryan Graves, Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, Vinnie Hinostroza, Matt Nieto, Andreas Johnsson, Will Butcher, Alex Nedeljkovic, Magnus Hellberg

Out: Mikael Granlund, Jeff Petry, Brian Dumoulin, Jason Zucker, Dmitry Kulikov, Nick Bonino, Ryan Poehling, Josh Archibald, Danton Heinen

Will the Pens’ attempt to give Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang one more Stanley Cup run prove futile? Probably. This was the oldest and smallest team in the NHL in 2022-23, and it missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. It was clearly trending in the wrong direction. That said, the Pens did only miss the postseason by a single point. So it’s hard not to envision them creeping back in after new president of hockey ops and GM Kyle Dubas put serious work in to patch over their holes this offseason.

Did it actually make much sense to acquire Erik Karlsson when the Pens already had a top-tier, right-shot, puck-moving power-play quarterback in Kris Letang? No, not really, but it’s not like the reigning Norris Trophy winner won’t help his new team. Stanley Cup winners Reilly Smith and Lars Eller, not to mention bruiser Noel Acciari, beef up a forward group that badly lacked depth in 2022-23, while Ryan Graves should prove a nice upgrade over the departing Brian Dumoulin as a top-four defenseman.

If I was in charge of the Pens, I would have tried to tank them several years back in hopes of reloading with actual young talent by right about now. But I’m not, and if I accept that Dubas was brought in to revive a win-now operation, I must tip my cap. The Pens look vastly improved going into 2023-24.