The St. Louis Cardinals' disappointing season may have hit a low point with Wednesday's stunning loss to the San Francisco Giants.

But the Cardinals' two biggest stars both emphasized their support for embattled manager Oliver Marmol, who has come under fire amid St. Louis' latest swoon.

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt, last year's National League MVP, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that his confidence in Marmol is "as high as it's ever been."

"It's pretty simple: We have to play better," Goldschmidt told the Post-Dispatch. "We haven't played good enough to win, and that's why we are losing games. You can't blame the coaching staff when we don't perform.

"We are the ones out there playing. We have not performed as good as we need to. We have not played better than the teams we are playing against. It hasn't been good enough, and they have beaten us. We are the ones out there playing, and we haven't done a good enough job."

Nolan Arenado echoed Goldschmidt's sentiments, telling reporters that Marmol and the coaching staff "work their asses off" and blaming the last-place Cardinals' struggles solely on the players.

"We just don't execute," the 10-time All-Star third baseman said, according to the Post-Dispatch. "That's just what it comes down to -- we don't execute. I can see why that's a topic, because it's easy to blame [Marmol and the staff] -- easy to blame them.

"I can't think of a coaching staff that tries to get us more prepared, all of them. They work their butts off and we just don't execute. I think it's the players. You can pinpoint the coaches all you want, but it's the players. It's us as a group. We don't execute."

Marmol told reporters that he did not plan to hold a team meeting after Wednesday's loss to the Giants, who tied the game in the ninth inning on Mike Yastrzemski's two-run homer before rallying in the 10th for an 8-5 victory to complete a three-game series sweep in St. Louis.

"At some point, you've got to do something about it," Marmol said. "You get punched in the face, punch back."

The Cardinals have lost five consecutive games and have the worst record in the NL at 27-42. Despite a roster that features Goldschmidt and Arenado, they enter Thursday 8½ games behind the first-place Pirates in the NL Central.

Marmol, 36, led St. Louis to a division title as a first-year manager in 2022 but has drawn criticism for multiple issues this season, including the club's handling of slumping catcher Willson Contreras and the Cardinals' struggles to close out games. The collapse Wednesday against the Giants marked the 14th time this season that St. Louis has lost a game after leading by multiple runs.

"Unfortunately we are not holding up our end of the bargain," veteran pitcher Adam Wainwright, the longest-tenured member of the Cardinals, told the Post-Dispatch. "[Marmol] is pushing us, he's challenging us. He's positive when he needs to be, but he's also telling us this is not acceptable.

"What more can a manager do? This is on the players. This is not on the coaches and the manager."

The Oakland Athletics' planned relocation to Las Vegas, which cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, has been widely panned by players and fans around Major League Baseball.

Even a pair of Vegas-born teammates, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott, say their hometown would be better served by an MLB expansion franchise, with the A's remaining in Oakland.

"I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland," Harper told USA Today Sports in a report published Thursday. "It's just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You're taking a team out of a city. I'm pretty sad because of all of the history and all of the greatness they've seen there.

"I see the A's as Oakland. I don't see them as Vegas."

Harper first gained national stardom at Las Vegas High School and still resides in nearby Henderson. The Phillies slugger compared the A's to two of Las Vegas' other major professional sports teams: the recently relocated Raiders and the reigning Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, who were an expansion franchise in 2017.

"Look at the Knights -- they won the Cup, but they were an expansion franchise," Harper told USA Today. "They were Vegas-born, as people would say. It's the first team that came to Vegas. I don't think you can really match that.

"It's just going to be tough for those guys. It was tough for the Raiders last year. People thought the Raiders would be successful. Maybe they will be, but you have to build a fan base. Those 5- and 6-year-olds are going to grow up as Raiders fans or A's fans, so by the time they are 16, 17 years old, they're going to have fans."

Stott, 25, was a high school star in Enterprise, Nevada, and played collegiately at UNLV. The second-year Phillies infielder agreed with Harper that Las Vegas "would rather see an expansion team than a relocated team" and noted that the last-place A's could struggle to build a fan base.

"You have people in town liking the Dodgers, and the Angels, and the Padres, and the Diamondbacks," Stott told USA Today. "It will take a few generations before they have a real fandom in baseball. I'm sure they'll sell tickets for visiting fans, which is probably all they care about."

The Athletics' exit from Oakland advanced further Wednesday night when the Nevada Legislature gave final approval to public funding for a portion of a proposed $1.5 billion Las Vegas stadium with a retractable roof. The deal still needs a signature from Gov. Joe Lombardo, and MLB still must approve the relocation, but both of those things are expected.

The vote came one day after fans in Oakland held their long-planned "Reverse Boycott" intended to fill the Oakland Coliseum and prove their worth to owner John Fisher and MLB. The game Tuesday night against the Rays drew 27,759 in attendance, Oakland's largest home crowd of the season and more than triple the team's home average of 8,555.

Harper, Stott and the Phillies open a three-game series Friday in Oakland.

"Those fans are so passionate, they bleed green," Harper said. "I'm not sure what they're going to be, or how they're going to be in Vegas, but it won't be the same. ... I'm going to be pretty sad they're moving because of all of that history and all of the greatness they've seen there."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred fired back Thursday against the backlash facing Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher, who hopes to move the team to Las Vegas.

"I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland," Manfred said. "I do not like this outcome. I understand why they feel the way they do. I think the real question is what is it that Oakland was prepared to do? There is no Oakland offer. They never got to the point where they had a plan to build a stadium at any site. It's not just John Fisher. ... The community has to provide support, and at some point you come to the realization that it's just not going to happen."

In a statement to ESPN, the Oakland mayor's office pushed back against Manfred's characterization.

"There was a very concrete proposal under discussion and Oakland had gone above and beyond to clear hurdles, including securing funding for infrastructure, providing an environmental review and working with other agencies to finalize proposals," said a spokesperson for the Oakland mayor's office. "The reality is the A's ownership had insisted on a multibillion-dollar, 55-acre project that included a ballpark, residential, commercial and retail space. In Las Vegas, for whatever reason, they seem satisfied with a 9-acre leased ballpark on leased land. If they had proposed a similar project in Oakland, we feel confident a new ballpark would already be under construction."

The Nevada Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to provide public funding for a proposed $1.5 billion stadium with a retractable roof, approving a bill with $380 million in taxpayer money on a 25-15 vote, including the creation of a special tax district around the stadium -- that would be the smallest in MLB -- to generate money to pay off bonds and interests going toward funding.

The plan in Nevada reignited the debate over public funding for private sports clubs, with representatives for the A's and Nevada tourism stating that the new stadium could add to the growing Las Vegas sports scene, which features the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and the NFL's Raiders, which also moved from Oakland ahead of the 2020 season.

Several academic articles -- including a 2015 study from Stanford economist Roger Noll -- came to the conclusion that professional sports stadiums do not generate local growth as advertised. According to one study published by the Journal of Economic Surveys in 2022, overall employment tends to not grow in the stadium's communities and areas with sports teams and stadiums are not associated with greater income growth or business activity.

Manfred pushed back against those studies.

"I love academics; they're great," Manfred said. "Take the areas where baseball stadiums had been built, OK? Look at what was around Truist Park before that was built. Look at the area around Nationals Park before that was built. I lived in that city. Academics can say whatever they want. I think the reality tells you something else."

Cobb County received a $300 million subsidy to build Truist Park, but five years after its opening, the county still had a $15 million annual deficit to service the debt to cover operations of the stadium. While the county experienced spending growth after the stadium opened, tax revenue fell short of covering the money spent on the facility. While the county promised high tax revenue from higher property assessments due to the stadium, that has not materialized, leading to an increase in property taxes to cover expenses.

Oakland fans have vocally pushed back against moving the franchise to Las Vegas. On Tuesday, A's fans staged a reverse boycott intending to fill the Oakland Coliseum, which has averaged 8,555 fans this season. The game drew 27,759 and created a playoff atmosphere, with chants of "Sell the Team!" reverberating throughout the stadium.

Manfred said he was out at dinner with the owners during the game but read the coverage about the event.

"It was great," Manfred said. "It's great to see what is this year almost an average Major League Baseball crowd in the facility for one night. That's a great thing."

The A's went to the playoffs in 2019 and 2020 before the team began trading away its young stars in an attempt to reduce payroll, now the lowest in baseball. While the quality of the roster declined, the team raised ticket prices. In trying to justify the relocation to Las Vegas, the team stated the poor attendance and the condition of the ballpark prompted the move.

"The ballpark's not in good shape," Manfred said. "The ballpark is not a major league facility. I've said it repeatedly."

Prominent Las Vegas baseball voices oppose the move of the Athletics to Las Vegas. Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper -- who was born in Las Vegas -- told USA Today on Thursday that the Athletics would be better served remaining in Oakland and that he would rather see the city get an expansion franchise.

"I feel sorry for the fans in Oakland," Harper said. "It's just not right. They have so much history in Oakland. You're taking a team out of a city. I'm pretty sad because of all the history and all of the greatness they've seen there."

"I see the A's as Oakland. I don't see them as Vegas."

The City of Oakland negotiated with the A's to develop a stadium and mixed-use district at Howard Terminal. Oakland mayor Sheng Thao pulled out of negotiations, believing the city was being used as leverage to get a better deal with Las Vegas. Thao said after the Nevada vote that California's legislature passed three new pieces of legislation to support construction of a new A's ballpark at Howard Terminal.

"The A's have been part of Oakland for more than half a century, and they belong in this city," Thao said in a statement. "There is no city that has worked harder to meet the needs of a team than Oakland."

While the A's may not be in Vegas much longer, Manfred said he hopes the sport did not lose fans in Oakland.

"I hope they stay baseball fans," Manfred said. "Whatever team they decide to affiliate with."

Back-rower Tom Pearson has become the third former London Irish player signed by Northampton Saints since the club's financial collapse.

Pearson's Saints deal comes after he was named in England's 28-man pre-World Cup training squad on Monday.

He said he would "treasure" his time with Irish, where he scored 10 tries in 39 games over two years.

London Irish went into administration last week, having already been suspended from the Premiership.

Pearson, who won London Irish's young player of the year award in his first season, was among the Exiles' most in-demand players.

He was named the Premiership's breakthrough player of the season and the Rugby Players' Association's (RPA) young player of the season after helping the Exiles to a fifth-placed top-flight finish in 2022-23.

"I'll always be incredibly grateful to London Irish and treasure my time there," Pearson said.

"They gave me a shot two years ago coming out of university, when I was an unknown and probably a bit of a risk.

"It's tragic to not know the true potential of that team we had, but I want to thank all the players, staff and the fans for everything they gave me over the last two years and for helping me create lifelong memories."

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson said Pearson has the physicality and movement to "make significant impacts all over the park".

"Tom is an incredible athlete, and is just going to get better the longer he is in the professional environment," he told the club website.

Former England captain Tom Wood has been given a key role on Premiership Rugby's new sporting commission, as the league looks to transform how the club game is run.

It comes after a disastrous period off the field, with Worcester, Wasps and London Irish all going out of business.

Wood won 50 caps for England, retiring in 2022 after a 15-year career.

The former flanker won the Six Nations in 2011 and 2017, captained the national side on their tour of Argentina in 2013, and led Northampton to the Premiership title in 2014.

He will provide a player's perspective as part of the seven-person commission, which will include three more independent figures from sport and business.

Ministry of Justice board member Mark Rawlinson - part of the 'Red Knights' group which attempted to buy Manchester United in 2010 - will also be part of the commission, as will leading football executive Jane Purdon and governance expert Carys Williams.

The panel will be chaired by Premiership Rugby official Nigel Melville and will also include chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor and rugby director Phil Winstanley.

Melville said: "Our goal has always been to strengthen our governance and make internal decision-making more agile, whilst also bringing about greater independence to any contentious issues."

Massie-Taylor said the launch of the commission was a "landmark moment for Premiership Rugby as we transform our ways of working".

The commission has been given the power to make decisions on behalf of the 10 remaining Premiership clubs over crucial areas such as the calendar and season structure, in a bid to avoid the conflict and vested interests that has hamstrung the league's decision-making process.

It will provide a quarterly update to the PRL's investor board and will initially meet as a group eight times a year.

All seven members have one vote and decisions will be taken by majority vote.

As outlined last December, other governance changes will include the establishment of a financial monitoring panel, which will oversee all club finances in a bid to avoid the fates that befell Worcester, Wasps and London Irish.

Meanwhile, talks continue over a new Professional Game Agreement between the Premiership, the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Players' Association, as the game in England desperately attempts to recover from the calamitous events of the past nine months.

Wales and British and Irish Lions full-back Liam Williams is to leave Cardiff after securing a move to Japan.

But Cardiff were keen to offload one of their highest earners from the wage bill as the club faces a £2m budget cut for next season.

Having been capped 84 times by Wales, Williams remains eligible for the national side and is expected to be part of their World Cup plans.

He will be allowed to join the as yet unnamed Japanese club after the World Cup, should he be selected for a third successive finals.

However, the move is understood to be dependent upon passing a strict medical examination because of his long history of injuries.

Williams joined Cardiff from Scarlets before the 2022-23 campaign, but made just four appearances in his first season because of a series of injuries.

He is the latest international to leave Welsh regional rugby.

Fellow Test players Joe Hawkins (Exeter), Cory Hill (Japan), Rhys Webb (Biarritz), Tom Francis (Provence), Ross Moriarty (Brive), Will Rowlands (Racing 92) and Dillon Lewis (Harlequins) will all move abroad next season.

Six Nations teammates Leigh Halfpenny, Gareth Anscombe and Rhys Patchell also face uncertain futures having been released by their regional sides.

Cardiff's annual budget is set to be cut by £2m - from £7.2m to £5.2m - next season, reducing to £4.5m for the 2024-25 campaign for each of the four leading Welsh teams.

Williams will be the 17th player through the Arms Park exit this summer, while uncertainty still surrounds the future of head coach Dai Young, who was suspended pending an investigation into complaints over his behaviour towards club employees.

A new six-year deal between the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) and the teams was signed in March.

But the deal - a new Professional Rugby Agreement (PRA) that will run until 2029 - required a number of organisations to give their approval, including the Welsh Government.

The contract required Welsh Government consent because of a current loan agreement it holds with the WRU and regions but clubs have complained of cash-flow problems caused by delays in the funding delivery.

Australia rugby union international Kurtley Beale has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a woman at a Sydney pub last year.

The 34-year-old, who was arrested in December, was suspended from all forms of rugby by Rugby Australia.

"I'm devastated to be here today. I am not guilty," Beale said after appearing at Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court.

"The truth will come out."

Full-back Beale, who has played 95 times for his country, returned to Australia last year after a spell with French team Racing 92 to play for New South Wales Waratahs.

In January, he was called up to a 44-man Wallabies training squad for the World Cup, which starts on 8 September.

Winning a hockey championship requires sacrifice from the players. But the Coachella Valley Firebirds are asking their fans for an unusual sacrifice of their own during the team's push for the American Hockey League's championship round:

Giving up all forms of chocolate as the Firebirds face the Hershey Bears for the Calder Cup.

Ahead of the Calder Cup Finals against the Hershey Bears, the Firebirds called for "a boycott and removal of all chocolate in the Coachella Valley, including chocolate bars, chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, chocolate donuts, and chocolate chip cookies."

The Thousand Palms, California-based minor league affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, the Firebirds suggested that "fans craving chocolate should hold off until the end of the Calder Cup Finals."

But why?

The Bears, which have been playing in the AHL since 1938 and are an affiliate of the Washington Capitals, are based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the home of the Hershey candy company.

Evan Pivnick, the Firebirds' director of broadcast and communications, said the campaign was born out of their fans' enthusiasm for the newest AHL franchise all season.

"Our fans have been fantastic all year in terms of buying in and kind of doing whatever we kind of ask of them. So we were thinking of something to get a little rivalry going with the Hershey Bears," he said. "We knew there was going to be one on the ice. So we settled on a chocolate boycott in the Coachella Valley off the ice. Don't buy any. Don't eat any. Just one of those old school little [gimmicks] to keep it fun and light."

It's the kind of attention-seeking more one might expect from a team that debuted in the AHL this season matched up against the league's oldest franchise.

"We're just happy that our fans are responding to this," Pivnick said. "We're trying to make a little bit of history against a very historic team."

As Pivnick mentioned, the chocolate "ban" isn't exactly a draconian one. The confection is still available around the Coachella Valley. Chocolate is also still being sold inside the team's arena at concession stands -- although their mascot, Fuego, attempted to make a statement by destroying some inventory on social media:

PSA: no chocolate allowed ? #FiredUp pic.twitter.com/LELWxaCh7e

— x - Coachella Valley Firebirds (@Firebirds) June 7, 2023

(Fans in the comments were quick to note that these were not Hershey chocolates. The team doesn't sell any at home games, which now seems fortuitous.)

Rather than prohibiting the sale of chocolate, the Firebirds have decided to be more proactive:

They've instituted a chocolate amnesty program.

"We're asking fans to bring in chocolate to the arena. One of our sponsors, Brandini Toffee, will exchange it out for a bag of popcorn," Pivnick said.

Here's where things go from symbolic to substantial for Coachella Valley: The team's goal is to collect 1,000 pounds of exchanged chocolate to donate to the local FIND Food Bank, an organization "dedicated to relieving hunger, the causes of hunger, and the problems associated with hunger through awareness, education, and mobilization of resources and community involvement."

The team is currently doing "chocolate exchanges" at home games and is working on having them at the Firebirds' viewing parties. Coachella Valley lost to Hershey in Game 3 on Tuesday. The Firebirds lead the series 2-1, with Game 4 on Thursday.

He said the team wasn't worried that the Bears might ban one of the Coachella Valley's leading food items.

"We weren't really worried, because one thing that the Coachella Valley is known for is dates. It's a big agriculture area, and dates are the big thing," he said. "I think when you stack up dates versus chocolate, I think chocolate's going to win. We weren't really too concerned about that."

Coachella Valley has outscored Hershey 13-4 through three games in the series.

Obviously powered by the chocolate ban, right?

"We'd like to think there's some correlation to it," Pivnick said. "I'm not sure if anything is too hand in hand. But what we'll say that it is that the withdrawal of chocolate has made us hungry for the Calder Cup."

The Vegas Golden Knights are the 2023 Stanley Cup champions, joining the distinguished list of the NHL's best.

And now, their title defense begins.

As we await the 2023 NHL draft, along with free agency and trade season, it's time for the way-too-early edition of the 2023-24 NHL Power Rankings, voted on by the extended ESPN hockey family. Along with the ranking, we present the big things we're watching this summer for each club, courtesy of Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski.

How we rank: A panel of ESPN hockey commentators, analysts, reporters and editors rates teams against one another, and those results are tabulated to produce the list featured here.

Note: Previous ranking for each team refers to the final regular-season edition, published April 7.

1. Vegas Golden Knights

Previous ranking: 5
2022-23 finish: Stanley Cup champion

Everything Adin Hill did in the Stanley Cup playoffs reinforces why the Golden Knights -- or any team in need of a goaltender -- would want his services for 2023-24 and beyond. And if the Golden Knights re-sign Hill, what does that mean for Robin Lehner and the two years he has left on his contract at $5 million annually? -- Clark

2. New Jersey Devils

Previous ranking: 3
2022-23 finish: Second-round loss

After a breakout season, the Devils have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason. They have only five forwards under contract for next season. Among their restricted free agents at forward are Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt; their unrestricted free agents are veterans Erik Haula, Tomas Tatar and Miles Wood. Finally, will the Devils seek an upgrade in goal? -- Wyshynski

3. Colorado Avalanche

Previous ranking: 8
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

How will they manage their cap space? Losing Gabriel Landeskog for what looks like the entire season will see their captain potentially miss two full campaigns, but moving his salary to LTIR does create a temporary solution for a team that has contract questions to answer elsewhere. -- Clark

4. Dallas Stars

Previous ranking: 6
2022-23 finish: Conference final loss

Being two wins shy of the Stanley Cup Final further proves the Stars are indeed in a championship window. Figuring out how they can take the next step is the focal point of their summer, starting with calls on pending free agents Evgenii Dadonov and Max Domi. -- Clark

5. Boston Bruins

Previous ranking: 1
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

Boston has a key negotiation looming with RFA Jeremy Swayman. The 24-year-old played in tandem with Linus Ullmark (signed through 2024-25) in a successful 2022-23 regular season that ended in playoff heartbreak. How will the Bruins balance their current and future goaltending situation in critical talks with Swayman's camp? -- Shilton

6. Carolina Hurricanes

Previous ranking: 2
2022-23 finish: Conference final loss

Carolina has potential to lose both top goaltenders -- Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta -- in free agency. How will the Hurricanes handle the mix in net moving forward? Upstart Pyotr Kochetkov likely isn't ready to be a full-time No. 1 for a competitive team. Carolina has to be eyeing veteran help in that department. -- Shilton

7. Edmonton Oilers

Previous ranking: 10
2022-23 finish: Second-round loss

Being in a championship window comes with both advantages and challenges. Now is the time to strike for the Oilers, who must not waste another year of Connor McDavid's and Leon Draisaitl's primes. Of course, they must improve the roster with less than $6 million in cap space -- and breakout defenseman Evan Bouchard needs a new contract. -- Clark

8. Tampa Bay Lightning

Previous ranking: 12
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

Tampa Bay has an aging core, critical free agent decisions ahead and sparse cap space to work with. Basically, it won't be easy for the Lighting to stay a contender. But can they make it happen? What Tampa does with RFA Tanner Jeannot and UFA Alex Killorn -- among others -- will determine what direction their ship sails. -- Shilton

9. Florida Panthers

Previous ranking: 17
2022-23 finish: Stanley Cup finalist

Florida stood pat at the trade deadline and wound up reaching the Stanley Cup Final. Will this offseason be similarly quiet -- or do they have another blockbuster deal in store like last summer with the Matthew Tkachuk trade? The Panthers have momentum and strong depth; that's worth capitalizing on. Can GM Bill Zito identify the missing piece that will allow Florida to run it back -- and then some -- next season? -- Shilton

10. New York Islanders

Previous ranking: 16
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

The Islanders have 20 players under contract for next season. GM Lou Lamoriello would like to bring back Scott Mayfield, Semyon Varlamov, Pierre Engvall and Zach Parise, if the latter chooses not to retire. The only player that seems like he's on the outs is forward Josh Bailey, who was a playoff scratch. Can this team use its core to create more offense or will it seek goal scoring from elsewhere? -- Wyshynski

11. Toronto Maple Leafs

Previous ranking: 4
2022-23 finish: Second-round loss

Toronto's top priority is negotiating an Auston Matthews extension ASAP. Is new GM Brad Treliving up to the task? The Leafs will pull out all the stops to keep Matthews happy and in the fold (it's no coincidence they targeted Shane Doan as an advisor), but the key is actually getting that new deal over the line. -- Shilton

12. New York Rangers

Previous ranking: 7
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

The Rangers fired coach Gerard Gallant after losing to the Devils in the first round and hired Peter Laviolette to spark this star-laden roster. With rentals Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko off to free agency, who will the Rangers target to bolster their offense and get faster? -- Wyshynski

13. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 19
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

Owen Power is entering the final season of his rookie contract. Buffalo will want to talk extension sooner than later -- but what will that look like? Power could go the bridge-deal route, or go long-term for a little less money per season. The Sabres are undeniably on the rise, and Power is part of that. The question is: What price will be right? -- Shilton

14. Minnesota Wild

Previous ranking: 9
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

Even with veteran players hitting free agency, the Wild remain cap-strapped in their attempt to boost a roster that went out in the first round of the playoffs. Especially with starting goalie Filip Gustavsson needing a new contract. -- Wyshynski

15. Los Angeles Kings

Previous ranking: 11
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

CapFriendly projects the Kings will have a little more than $7.3 million in cap space to improve a team that has the bulk of its roster under contract. Of course, there is a goaltending situation to sort out: Trade acquisition Joonas Korpisalo is a free agent, leaving Pheonix Copley on his lonesome for now. And how does Michigan alum Erik Portillo fit into the plan for this season? -- Clark

16. Seattle Kraken

Previous ranking: 14
2022-23 finish: Second-round loss

There are a few captivating situations to monitor for the Kraken this summer. How will they structure a new deal for Vince Dunn? In general, how will they deploy a projected $20.3 million in cap space to improve the roster? Perhaps most importantly, how can the team get Philipp Grubauer to harness his postseason success into something more consistent? -- Clark

17. Ottawa Senators

Previous ranking: 21
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

It looks like the Senators might have a new owner. Now, Ottawa needs a new plan. Alex DeBrincat isn't planning to re-sign, which means his rights could be traded away. Continued instability around the Senators future could drive other players -- including UFAs -- away. Ottawa has a burgeoning young core to support; the faster its other business gets handled, the better. -- Shilton

18. Calgary Flames

Previous ranking: 15
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

In missing the playoffs by three points, the Flames showed they were close. Could a new coach in Ryan Huska do the trick? Or will new GM Craig Conroy attempt to make roster improvements -- despite having a projected $1.25 million in cap space? -- Clark

19. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 24
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Red Wings are desperate to add more scoring. How aggressive is GM Steve Yzerman willing to be to give the team a boost up front? Does he go after someone like Alex DeBrincat in a trade? Target a veteran like Alex Killorn in free agency? It feels like the Red Wings could be on the cusp of contention, but only if Yzerman can pull on the right threads. -- Shilton

20. Nashville Predators

Previous ranking: 20
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

New head coach Andrew Brunette is expected to crank up the offense in Nashville. Will the Predators seek to play that way with its core, or will new GM Barry Trotz seek to remake this roster? -- Wyshynski

21. Pittsburgh Penguins

Previous ranking: 18
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

New team president (and interim GM) Kyle Dubas has over $20 million with which to build a new supporting cast around Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin -- the Core Three? -- while helping to transition the Penguins to whatever comes next after their playing days are done. -- Wyshynski

22. Winnipeg Jets

Previous ranking: 13
2022-23 finish: First-round loss

Will the Jets decide to run it back in the hopes of making the playoffs, or blow it all up in the hopes for a better future? Arbitration-eligible RFA Pierre-Luc Dubois wants out, and other longtime Jets such as Blake Wheeler could be on the move, too. -- Clark

23. Washington Capitals

Previous ranking: 22
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Capitals have a new young head coach in Spencer Carbery and some interesting calls to make about veteran players such as Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson and Anthony Mantha. Expect GM Brian MacLellan to make some bold moves to keep Washington competitive during Alex Ovechkin's record chase. -- Wyshynski

24. St. Louis Blues

Previous ranking: 23
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

Goaltender will be one of the primary positions to monitor when it comes to what might happen with the Blues. Mainly, can Jordan Binnington find a way to regain the consistency that eluded him in 2022-23? And who could be the best option to work in tandem with him? -- Clark

25. Vancouver Canucks

Previous ranking: 25
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

Getting the salary cap situation in order is a top priority for Canucks; as of now, CapFriendly projects the team to be $668,750 OVER the salary cap for 2023-24. Yes, this is a team that missed the playoffs by 12 points. -- Clark

26. Montreal Canadiens

Previous ranking: 29
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

Can the Canadiens actually land Pierre-Luc Dubois? It's clear Dubois won't be signing a contract extension in Winnipeg. The Montreal native has been tied to his hometown team for months. Will there be a trade? Dubois would be an ideal support for the Canadiens' talented young cast and would seriously expedite the rebuilding efforts. -- Shilton

27. Columbus Blue Jackets

Previous ranking: 31
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Blue Jackets have been busy already adding players (such as Damon Severson and Ivan Provorov) and coaches (Mike Babcock). How much further is Columbus willing to go to be a playoff contender? Coming off a horrible season, and being aggressive out of the gate this offseason, indicates Columbus is far from finished retooling. -- Shilton

28. Chicago Blackhawks

Previous ranking: 30
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Blackhawks stripped their roster down to the foundations in an attempt to secure the first overall pick. Now that Connor Bedard is on the way, how hard will GM Kyle Davidson go to surround him with talent this early in his career? -- Wyshynski

29. Philadelphia Flyers

Previous ranking: 26
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Keith Jones and Danny Briere regime has already started to shake up the team's roster. Expect names such as Carter Hart, Scott Laughton and Tony DeAngelo to be among those in the Flyers rumor mill as the makeover continues. -- Wyshynski

30. Arizona Coyotes

Previous ranking: 27
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

The Coyotes lost out on a new arena in Tempe, lost out on one of the top two overall picks in the draft and lost longtime executive Shane Doan to the Maple Leafs. Could star forward Clayton Keller be what they lose next? -- Wyshynski

31. San Jose Sharks

Previous ranking: 28
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

What will happen on the Erik Karlsson front? The Sharks have a 100-point-scoring defenseman that playoff teams would like to have -- with the caveat that Karlsson has four more years on a contract at $11.5 million annually (and a full no-movement clause). -- Clark

32. Anaheim Ducks

Previous ranking: 32
2022-23 finish: No playoffs

This will be one of the most important offseasons in recent franchise history. Beyond hiring a teacher in coach Greg Cronin and whatever the Ducks decide to do with the No. 2 pick, there's also the matter of signing Jamie Drysdale, Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras to new contracts. -- Clark