Coach Ken Hitchcock preaches one thing above all others: defensive responsibility. The message resonated with the young team a season ago, when he was hired a month in and the Blues went on to win the Central -- one of the toughest divisions in hockey -- and sweep the San Jose Sharks in the first round. (The Blues later lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champ Los Angeles Kings.) The roster is mostly comprised of the same players, including tough captain David Backes (pictured). Plus, this season marks the debut of highly touted prospect and former first-round pick Vladimir Tarasenko, a 21-year-old Russian forward who spent parts of six seasons in the KHL.

A new GM (Marc Bergevin) and coach (Michel Therrien) take over a team long on salary, but short on results. Immediately, the team was forced to tackle the contracts of two of their stars: veteran forward Scott Gomez and young defenseman P.K. Subban (pictured). Montreal told Gomez to stay home in order to buy out his contract at season’s end. He was waived Wednesday. Subban, a restricted free agent, is holding out. It’s a sideshow that shouldn’t distract from one thing: The Habs aren’t a playoff team.

The Rangers were two victories from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final after they signed top free agent Brad Richards. Maybe another big-name forward, Rick Nash, will put them over the top. (Nash was acquired in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets.) While head coach John Tortorella is known for shuffling lines, a Nash-Richards-Marian Gaborik combo could be the most formidable in hockey. With salary cap troubles quickly approaching and players like goalie Henrik Lundqvist (pictured) in their prime, the window is closing -- and that’s not something Tortorella will let slide shut quietly.

The Devils lost the Zach Parise sweepstakes, as the captain/forward signed with the Minnesota Wild. The team’s other star forward, Ilya Kovalchuk, toyed with the idea of staying in the KHL and then delayed his return to the Devils to play in the Russian league’s All-Star game. Sure, Martin Brodeur (pictured) agreed to a two-year deal, but the goalie is 40. Unless Brodeur turns back the clock some and forward Adam Henrique continues to show the explosive growth on display in last season’s playoffs, another postseason berth could be a stretch.

The Flyers officially became Claude Giroux’s team as he was named captain Tuesday. Giroux (pictured), 25, set a high mark of 93 points last season that the team’s other younger forwards -- like Sean Couturier and Brayden Schenn -- could soon get near in their careers. The team’s former captain, defenseman Chris Pronger, may never resume his NHL career due to post-concussion syndrome. While the continued absence of Pronger stings, the Flyers will be fine defensively as long as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov performs like the Bryz of old and not the one we saw in the first year of a nine-year contract a season ago.

All 30 teams have to deal with a shortened training camp and the rigors of a condensed schedule. The Leafs compounded the scramble by letting go of GM Brian Burke last week. The Leafs haven’t made the playoffs since 2004 and, without any major additions, that trend could continue. While Phil Kessel (pictured) and a resurgent Joffrey Lupul can power the Leafs offense, Toronto will be reliant on defenseman Dion Phaneuf and goalie James Reimer in order to remain competitive.

Don’t expect Tim Thomas and the goalie’s vow to sit out this season to be a distraction for long. Tuukka Rask is more than capable to take over in the crease and the skaters in front of him are arguably deeper than when Thomas and the Bruins won the Cup two seasons ago. Patrice Bergeron, Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin are some of the most dynamic forwards in the league and Zdeno Chara (pictured) is, well, Zdeno Chara -- a defenseman who can almost single-handedly shore up the Bruins’ blue line. The Bruins also had 12 players skating in European or minor leagues during the work stoppage, so rust won’t be an issue.

Before the lockout, the Wild were the center of the hockey world with the signings of the two biggest free agents: forward Zach Parise (pictured right) and defenseman Ryan Suter (pictured left). Those two new cogs now have to fit into a new team in a week’s time. Will they mesh with the acquisitions made last season: Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi? Second-year coach Mike Yeo has his work cut out for him on a team that finished 14 points out of playoff contention last season.

San Jose is another team that avoided wholesale changes and opted for minor tweaks. Roster-wise, the Sharks added two free agents: defenseman Brad Stuart and forward Adam Burish. That’s as many changes as were made to the coaching staff under Todd McLellan as Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson and veteran defenseman Jim Johnson were added. With Joe Thornton (pictured), Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture, the team has one of the most talented offenses in the league. Maybe the change in the coaching ranks will finally allow the Sharks to meet (and perhaps exceed) expectations.

Nicklas Lidstrom never missed the playoffs during his 20 seasons with the Red Wings. The Wings’ playoff streak is actually one season longer than that and could finally be in jeopardy of ending this season now that Lidstrom, the team’s captain and blue-line anchor, has retired. The Red Wings announced Tuesday that Henrik Zetterberg would take over the “C.” Replacing one of the best two-way defensemen in league history will take more than a few weaves of some thread.

The Kings showed what they could do in a short schedule last season. (They didn’t really start playing until the last month of the regular season.) LA squeaked into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West and dominated all the way until hoisting its first Stanley Cup. The heart of the Kings’ roster -- Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Quick (pictured) and Drew Doughty -- remains intact. The Kings also have one thing going for them that few Cup champs have had: a long offseason.

The Caps are on their third coach in less than two seasons. Adam Oates, who was recently elected to the Hall of Fame, becomes the newest leader behind the bench. He will have to quickly figure out the team’s goalie situation, which has been in flux for several seasons. The health of center Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman Mike Green -- both missed huge chunks of time last season due to injury -- will remain huge concerns. And what can be done to spur on Alex Ovechkin (pictured), whose production has gone from 109 points in 2009-‘10 to 65 points last season? One good thing: at least Oates doesn’t have to deal with the enigmatic Alex Semin, who signed with Carolina.

Scoring will never be an issue with Sidney Crosby (pictured left), Evgeni Malkin (pictured right) and James Neal in your lineup. The downside has been defense, evidenced last season when Philly bounced Pittsburgh in the first round. (The Pens allowed 30 goals in six games.) While they didn’t pick up a defenseman who can make immediate impact, goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will be fresher with the addition of Tomas Vokoun and the acquisition of two-way center Brandon Sutter (part of a trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina) should make the Pens tighter on defense overall.

“Sprint” is the word seemingly tossed around most since the NHL and the players agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement that ended a lockout that covered nearly four months. “Everybody uses that word,” San Jose Sharks coach Todd McLellan told FOXSports.com. “Wins and losses are magnified. A three-game losing streak is magnified, as is a five-game winning streak.” That’s because the NHL season -- which opens on Saturday for most teams -- is 48 games instead of the usual 82. FOXSports.com examines the seven teams that are the most and least prepared for this “sprint.”

-- A.J. Perez