DALLAS — The NHL offseason is a time to assess the state of each club and plan a course for the future.
On a recent episode of Locked on NHL, there was a discussion in terms of which teams improved the most over the past couple of months.
Nick Morgan of Locked on Predators begins with the Dallas Stars.
"You bring in Matt Duchener, who two seasons ago was a 43-goal scorer, 86 points," Morgan states. "Now he's a depth guy on a team with a lot of talent. That's a dynamo addition for the Stars."
Morgan ranks Chicago second because of the good fortune of being able to draft Connor Bedard, then the Arizona Coyotes for some savvy signings and convincing Logan Cooley to make the jump from college hockey.
Rounding out Morgan's top five most improved teams in the NHL's Western Conference are the Vancouver Canucks and the Anaheim Ducks.
Co-host Seth Toupal of Locked on Wild agrees with having Arizona near the top of the list, saying, "By the definition of this list, they're substantially better than they were last year."
The Coyotes recently highlighted their offseason in a statement in regards to their search for land on which to build an arena.
"Our incredibly loyal and passionate fan base is extremely excited about our team and the incredible additions we've made this summer including Matt Dumba, Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, Nick Bjugstad, Troy Stecher, Sean Durzi and the top prospect in the world, Logan Cooley."
The Vegas Golden Knights, Edmonton Oilers, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Los Angeles Kings were the top five teams in the Western Conference last year.
It was Vegas, of course, that won the Stanley Cup, and all improvements made are with a view to bringing them down in 2023-24.