from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

The kickoff for NHL training camps is about a month away, but the grand majority of teams made notable changes to their roster weeks ago, leaving analysis of their growth – on paper, at least – to hockey observers now.

There will be teams that underachieve, of course, but there are also going to be teams that make a jump up the standings. And those are the teams we’re looking to identify in this column.

Here are the four NHL teams best-prepared to make a leap in the standings:

Chicago Blackhawks

The Hawks are going to be followed around by the investigation into allegations of abuse by a former coach until the investigation ends and someone/some people are made to be responsible for the alleged wrongdoing. But on the hockey side, the team has made solid inroads toward improving on last season’s sixth-place finish in the Central Division.

conitnued, also listed are the Kings, Flyers and Panthers...