The change in fortune for the Minnesota Wild came in the summer of 2012 when they signed forward Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to long-term contracts.

Those moves certainly helped the present and short-term future of the Wild, who won a Stanley Cup Playoff series last spring for the first time in 11 years. However, it also helped in a long-term way because it meant that instead of needing to force younger players into key roles, the Wild could add them as complementary parts or leave them to develop longer at lower levels.

"We have a deeper group," Wild assistant general manager Brent Flahr told NHL.com. "We're not forced to put in guys. We can let them can earn it, and when they're ready their play will dictate when they can get on the team. That's obviously a much healthier way to do business in the NHL. The NHL is a tough jump for any young person; to get the confidence playing pro hockey at the American league level first is the best way to do it."

Here's a look at the Wild's top 10 prospects, according to NHL.com:

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

The Minnesota Wild have to be pleased with their progression during the past two seasons. After missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs from 2009 through 2012, they returned to the postseason in 2013 and then won a playoff series for the first time in 11 years by upsetting the Colorado Avalanche this past spring. The Wild followed by giving the Chicago Blackhawks a challenge before losing in six games.

That's solid improvement under the tandem of general manager Chuck Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo, though it's still a long way from the Stanley Cup. However, Fletcher feels his team is on the right track.

The Minnesota Wild look like a team on the rise after winning their first postseason series in 11 years and giving the Chicago Blackhawks all they could handle before losing in six games in their Western Conference Second Round series.

But going from a team that can win a round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to one that can compete for a championship is a big leap. General manager Chuck Fletcher said his players' demeanor after losing the series to Chicago indicates that they're not satisfied with what they've accomplished so far.

"The interesting thing was that at the end of the season, after we lost to Chicago and even for a week or two afterward, there wasn't any sense of euphoria," he told NHL.com. "I think everyone recognizes how competitive this League is and how difficult it is to win. We lost a series to Chicago and that stung. That's great when there's that sense that we could have done more and could have done better."

Here are five questions the Wild must answer in order to build on last season's success:

Nino Niederreiter tweeted during the summer that he was "proud to be on the Swiss cover of NHL15" after a season in which he posted career-highs in goals, assists and points, and scored the overtime winner in the Minnesota Wild's first victory in a Stanley Cup Playoff series since 2003.

The big question for Niederreiter and the Wild is simple: What's next?

Though it seems as if Niederreiter has been around a long time, he won't turn 22 years old until next month. And after he had 14 goals and 36 points in his 81 games with the Wild following his acquisition from the New York Islanders at the 2013 NHL Draft, coach Mike Yeo and general manager Chuck Fletcher feel he's capable of doing a lot more.

The Minnesota Wild established a cache of young players and prospects, and have supplemented it with star additions during the past couple of years.

Minnesota's process of building toward championship contender status has been gradual, but the Wild might be almost there. They've reached the top end of the NHL's middle, securing a playoff berth in two straight seasons and winning a round in 2014.

The next step forward is into the League's elite, but that might be more difficult than the previous upward movement. There are still questions about the back end of the defense corps, and especially about who is going to be the goaltender.

The next step forward is into the League's elite, but that might be more difficult than the previous upward movement. There are still questions about the back end of the defense corps, and especially about who is going to be the goaltender.

Not only did the Wild knock out the Colorado Avalanche in the first round last season, but they gave a significantly better account of themselves against the Chicago Blackhawks than they did in 2013. It is a team on the rise, but how much higher they can go in 2014-15 is a difficult question to answer.

Here's a look at the projected 2014-15 lineup for the Wild:

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill believes one trademark of an elite organization is the ability to train and develop players in a winning environment.

Nill can take pride in the fact the organization's American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars, is doing just that. In its first five seasons of existence, Texas has already posted four 40-win seasons and made two trips to the Calder Cup Finals, winning it all last season.

"The Texas Stars have done a great job with [training and developing], and I know firsthand that the rewards from winning the Calder Cup will have a profoundly positive impact for each of our prospects and our team in Dallas as we move forward," Nill said.

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

The Dallas Stars learned how to win last season with little expected of them. They wound up in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in six years.

"I think we did surprise a few people," Stars coach Lindy Ruff told NHL.com.

They won't anymore.

If the Stars don't wind up in the playoffs again this season they'll be seen as a disappointment because expectations on them are rising now that Ruff and general manager Jim Nill have their fingerprints all over the team.

Valeri Nichushkin

Right Wing - DAL

GOALS: 14 | ASST: 20 | PTS: 34
SOG: 128 | +/-: 20

"It was all brand new to him last year," Nill told NHL.com. "He had some frustrating times."

Nichushkin still scored 14 goals and had 34 points in 79 games playing in unfamiliar cities featuring smaller rinks and bigger and better competition than he had ever faced before. Stars coach Lindy Ruff said he counted as many as nine breakaways that Nichushkin missed on.

The Dallas Stars made a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. General manager Jim Nill then went out and added Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky to the mix, bolstering the offense and setting the Stars up for a chance at a deep playoff run this season.

To do it, they'll have to answer the following five questions:

1. Will Spezza fit in? -- Spezza targeted the Stars for the chance to play behind Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and for the opportunity, as he said, "to try to win the Stanley Cup." This should be a seamless transition for him as he goes from being the captain of a team in Canada to a second-line center and likely letter-less leader in Texas.

But Spezza has to produce. He has to be the No. 2 center Dallas didn't have last season if the Stars want to have any chance to compete in the Western Conference, where the best teams have excellent center depth and win in part because of how good they are down the middle.

If there were an "offseason champions" banner passed out every season, the 2014 edition might belong to the Dallas Stars.

A couple of other teams, perhaps most notably the New York Islanders, could stake a claim to this fictitious honor as well, but the Stars became a media darling in short order when general manager Jim Nill traded for Jason Spezza, signed Ales Hemsky and retained Vernon Fiddler.

The Stars had a tremendous offseason in 2013 as well, first landing Nill and coach Lindy Ruff, and then adding Tyler Seguin, Rich Peverley, Valeri Nichushkin and Shawn Horcoff. Dallas has gone from mediocre to playoff team to potential Stanley Cup contender in two summers, and did it without needing a full-blown "rebuilding" phase.

Expectations are going to be higher in Dallas in 2014-15, but the talent level is as well. The Stars will be one of the most fascinating teams to monitor in the forthcoming campaign.

Here's a look at the projected 2014-15 lineup for the Stars: