Summer Skate series indexAlthough the weather doesn't necessarily make us think of winter pursuits, it's a good time to take the temperature of every NHL team. Hockey Prospectus will guide us through the league-wide tour and spotlight one player trending up and one player trending down for each club, as well as a key statistic as we look ahead to the 2014-15 season. References will be made to goals versus threshold (GVT), a Hockey Prospectus proprietary statistic; for more on GVT, click here. All other advanced stats are courtesy of Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.  After watching the Los Angeles Kings raise their second Stanley Cup in three years, teams around the NHL are studying them closely in an attempt to replicate the "Kings Way." While strategy likely plays a role in L.A.'s success, its winning ways are largely due to having an elite center, elite defensemen, forward depth and a goalie who takes it up a notch during the playoffs. The Kings should enter the season as favorites to win the Cup again, and the truth is, they could be even better than they were in 2013-14. They will bring back all the major pieces and will have a full season with scorer Marian Gaborik in the top six. Add a few talented young players such as Tyler Toffoli and Slava Voynov rising up the ranks, and Los Angeles will be scary good.
Trending Up: Jeff Carter, FLast season: 9.9 GVT
VUKOTA Projection: 10.1 GVT
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