7 NHL Teams That Must Blow It Up If They Can't Win the Stanley ...

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Pressure is a heck of a thing and can be a monster motivator in sports. It can also be the element that destroys all that it touches and changes the situation completely. That's where a few teams across the NHL find themselves headed into next season.

It's not to say it's a "Stanley Cup or Bust" campaign for these seven teams next year. They've had success, made it deep in the playoffs, or made it further than they have in the past, but it's still nowhere near good enough.

If these teams don't win the Cup, though, it's time for some hardcore disassembly. They've had so many cracks at it with the current setup and just aren't getting it done.

So, who qualifies for the "win or go elsewhere" list? Let's have a look.

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Cruelty isn't the point of this, but pointing out the obvious definitely is.

The Boston Bruins are staring down trouble. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí have retired, and they're looking at Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha as their new top two centers.

They are coming off a dominating season in which they won the Presidents' Trophy but then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Florida Panthers. Sure, the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup Final, but when you're the best team in the regular season by a long shot, you should be the team going to the final.

Yes, they've got David Pastrňák and his new monster extension kicking in, they've got Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman. There's a lot of talent there still, but the holes they have at center are mammoth. How they handle this season could dictate the immediate plan for the team.

The Atlantic Division will be a gauntlet-and-a-half to even get to the postseason, and if the Bruins wanted to blow things up to a degree to retool the roster, it might be a really good idea, particularly since they're lacking in top prospects.

The Bruins are Cup contenders until they prove they're not, but their pipeline is running dry and the roster is getting older.

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It wasn't that long ago that the New York Islanders were in back-to-back conference finals, but their roster is terrifyingly thin now.

The Islanders don't boast a ton of depth and have been able to make good with free agents like Zach Parise and Hudson Fasching of late, but they need more from the likes of Mathew Barzal, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Bo Horvat to make them serious contenders in the East.

Having Ilya Sorokin in goal is a cheat code of sorts since he's one of the best in the league, and he can take them far and steal playoff series, but they're the kind of team that can't withstand one key injury, never mind two or three.

The Isles' style of play makes withstanding such inconveniences a little easier, but it's not going to make it any easier to win the Cup.

The Islanders' prospect pipeline is running thin, and they're hard up against the salary cap after GM Lou Lamoriello gave out major extensions like Halloween candy this summer.

I'd argue they should already be trying to retool, but they have an aim and they're going for it. But if it doesn't work again this season, they've got to strongly reconsider finding a new plan entirely.

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In general, things are pretty good for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They've won the Stanley Cup twice in the past five years and have been to the Final three consecutive years.

They lost in the first round last season to Toronto, and you could argue a big reason for that was they were exhausted from having made that run three straight years before then.

Conventional thought is that the added offseason time will be good for the Bolts and allow them to get back at it in a big way this upcoming season.

They've been good about adjusting on the fly under the cap and parted ways with players when it was time to do so. Ondřej Palát, Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson come to mind right away. But if the Lightning don't get back this season and win it all, what do they do then?

Steven Stamkos can be a free agent next summer, and they've committed long-term to Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel, Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

That group by itself should make them a playoff team, but when you've won the Cup recently, the goal is to win it again while the going is good.

The catch here is that having Vasilevskiy in his prime will make the Lightning contenders no matter what, even if the rest of the Atlantic Division catches up.

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The New York Rangers have been pretty good the past couple years.

They've got an elite goalie in Igor Shesterkin and dynamic scorers like Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. They've got an elite defenseman in Adam Fox and a host of super young players who are supposed to help push them past the competition.

But while Shesterkin has been incredible and won a Vezina, Kreider's been a 50-goal scorer and Panarin is an all-world talent, they've not been able to put it together. They haven't seen young prospects such as Alexis Lafrenière, Kaapo Kakko, or Filip Chytil take the next step to put the Rangers into the stratosphere.

Two years ago, they were in the Eastern Conference Final, but they've seen the Hurricanes and Devils jump them in the Metropolitan Division and now new coach Peter Laviolette is tasked with coaching them to the next level.

No pressure, but if he isn't able to get the Rangers over the hump right away, there should be some big changes to the roster to address that.

As it is, Lafrenière is still unsigned and Kakko will be an RFA next summer. They've got Chytil locked up for the next four seasons and they're committed to Panarin, Zibanejad, Kreider, Vincent Trocheck and Barclay Goodrow up front, and Fox and Jacob Trouba on defense.

It's good that the rest of the roster is malleable, but continuing to come up short while rivals begin to thrive is not making anyone happy in Manhattan.

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The Edmonton Oilers are so frustrating to watch as they try to find the easiest way to help Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl win the Stanley Cup.

They've been unable to do this, and their efforts to right the ship each offseason have been well beyond curious.

Yes, they have McDavid and Draisaitl and that immediately makes them a dangerous team, but the playoffs have shown other teams aren't exactly scared of them all together. Two years ago, they made the conference final and were swept by Colorado. During McDavid's time with the team, that's as far as they've gotten.

McDavid's contract ends in three years and Draisaitl's ends in two. That puts serious pressure on Oilers management and GM Ken Holland to get it figured out swiftly.

Loyalty is great, but winning the Stanley Cup is way more fun. Besides, it worked out pretty well for Jack Eichel.

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The Eastern Conference is loaded with teams that are stacked. And while some stick out more than others, arguably the team that needs to win the Cup most is Carolina.

The Hurricanes have made the postseason for five straight years, and they were the best team in their division in the past three. That alone makes them a favorite to at least make it to the conference finals. To be fair, they also made the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 as a wild-card team and were swept by Boston.

That was charming and fun four years ago, but making the conference final in 2023 as the best in the Metro was more of a relief because that's where they're supposed to be at least.

The Hurricanes have been beyond good enough to win it all, and they've not even had a crack at the Stanley Cup Final. Two conference final losses, two second-round defeats and a first-round exit. Sure, that's better than what a lot of teams have done, but winning the Cup is all that matters.

Carolina has Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei and Teuvo Teravainen as possible unrestricted free agents next summer, and that would be a heck of a starting point for trying to figure out the correct weapons needed to win it all.

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To say the pressure is on for the Toronto Maple Leafs for the upcoming season is purposefully downplaying the entire matter. The pressure has been squarely on them since they signed John Tavares.

Toronto has a great team and a lot of great players, but this is a team that has been built for extended long-term success and while they've been a regular playoff competitor, they've also been regular playoff losers.

This past year saw the Leafs get past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004, a truly staggering realization when you think about it. It's also what makes the idea that they'll need to win the Cup or else face up to the likelihood of the team being dramatically changed in the offseason a bit easier to understand.

Toronto will have a boatload of potential UFAs next summer including Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Tyler Bertuzzi, Max Domi, TJ Brodie, Mark Giordano, John Klingberg and Ilya Samsonov. That's a lot of players and only a few are elite. It's harder to believe they wouldn't have a major reconstruction if they don't go all the way.

It's a lot for coach Sheldon Keefe to get a handle on, and new general manager Brad Treliving has the world on his plate to get right in his first season.

At least the Leafs are always able to do everything without a lot of scrutiny or attention, right? Wait a minute...