NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

If anyone on the Chicago Blackhawks needed the offseason, it was right wing Kris Versteeg.

The 2013-14 season wasn't one he'd like to remember too much, except for the fact he returned from major knee surgery. Otherwise, the versatile 28-year old had a season that could best be described as turbulent.

"Time off physically and mentally always helps," Versteeg said shortly after the Blackhawks opened training camp. "I wasn't good last year and you always try to bounce back from years like that and come back better, so it was nice to have time off."

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

The Chicago Blackhawks make no secret about their goal for this season and beyond.

They're out to add a sixth Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters at United Center, and they have a roster with enough talent to do it. After falling one goal short of playing for the Cup in back-to-back seasons, the Blackhawks are rejuvenated and ready for another season to begin.

In order to achieve their goal this season, they'll need to make sure these three things happen:

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

CHICAGO -- Four months later, it remains a goal that stings the Chicago Blackhawks.

Scored by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez 5:47 into overtime of Game 7 in the 2014 Western Conference Final, it sent the Kings to the Stanley Cup and left the Blackhawks with a summer of "what ifs?" to ponder.

What if they'd protected those two-goal leads in that game? What if defenseman Nick Leddy's stick hadn't been knocked to the ice seconds before Kings forward Justin Williams retrieved the puck and sent it out to Martinez?

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

The San Jose Sharks are used to bouncing back after coming up short in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they've never had to rebound from as painful or humiliating of a loss as they sustained last season in the Western Conference First Round against the Los Angeles Kings.

After winning the first three games of the series, the Sharks lost four straight to the Kings, who went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Sharks had a long, painful and, at times, dysfunctional offseason as Joe Thornton was stripped of his captaincy and alternate captain Patrick Marleau had his "A" removed as well.

"I think our minds still take us back to the playoffs, and they should, although I'd like us to eventually not forget about it but move on," Sharks coach Todd McLellan said. "But certainly, starting camp, there's a reflection period where we start thinking about how we finished the season and how the level of play that we competed in the last four games wasn't where it needed to be, and that's still there."

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

The San Jose Sharks have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs 10 straight seasons, a streak that seems likely to continue despite a tumultuous offseason and little help through free agency or trades.

But for the Sharks to bounce back from last season's first-round collapse against the Los Angeles Kings and become a team capable of making a strong run at a Stanley Cup title, they'll need the following three things to happen.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton opened training camp tied for 24th on the NHL's all-time assists list with 852 and ranked second among active players, trailing only Jaromir Jagr. Thornton has 1,194 career points, good for 46th all-time and second among active players, behind Jagr.

Thornton is San Jose's highest paid player, earning $6.75 million per year in his new three-year contract.

Yet, in the wake of San Jose's collapse against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Thornton was stripped of his captaincy, losing the "C" after wearing it for four seasons.

So the question when camp opened was this: How would losing the "C" affect Thornton, a player who continues adding to his possible Hall of Fame credentials and is crucial to the Sharks' hopes of rebounding after blowing a 3-0 series lead and losing the final four games against Los Angeles?

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman can still pinpoint the moment his season, and perhaps his career, turned.

Eight games into the 2013-14 season, his fifth in the NHL, the second pick in the 2009 NHL Draft struggled through one of the worst performances of his career in a 5-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.

"That Boston game was a tough game, but after that I felt like I took off," Hedman said. "That was a big turning point."

After posting a career-worst minus-5 rating against Boston, Hedman responded with two points in a 6-5 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks, including his first goal in 41 games. It was the turning point in a career year that established him as a top NHL defenseman. But he still feels he has something to prove.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

In a challenging season that saw captain Martin St. Louis traded, star center Steven Stamkos shelved with a broken leg and coach Jon Cooper entering his first full year behind the bench, plenty went right for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A number of young players, particularly goaltender Ben Bishop, emerged as legitimate contributors, and the team made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three years.

Much of that progress was overshadowed by a first-round sweep at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens. But with veteran help added over the summer and more top prospects on the way, the Lightning have some lofty expectations for 2014-15.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

If the Tampa Bay Lightning's 2013-14 season was about improving from a bottom-feeder into a Stanley Cup Playoff team, this season is about taking the next step. For the Lightning, that means building on a 101-point regular season and becoming a top-tier NHL franchise.

They already have the talent, with goaltender Ben Bishop, defenseman Victor Hedman and a slew of talented forwards built around captain Steven Stamkos, who is still only 24. General manager Steve Yzerman added a number of complementary veteran pieces, and the Lightning seem poised to improve on an impressive 2013-14 regular season that ended with playoff disappointment and a four-game sweep in the Eastern Conference First Round.

NHL.com continues its preview of the 2014-15 season, which will include in-depth looks at all 30 teams throughout September.

Kris Letang's tumultuous 2013-14 season is no secret.

Injuries and health issues plagued the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman, including a stroke in January. When he was healthy, planned partner Rob Scuderi was not. His play regressed as he fought to stay on the ice long enough to gain any traction. He was not the same player he was a season prior, when he was a Norris Trophy finalist.

But that doesn't matter to Letang now. He finished the Stanley Cup Playoffs strong, paired alongside defenseman Paul Martin, and wants to carry that play into the start of this season.