Looking ahead at the Hurricanes and Devils for the 2015-16 season

While many teams continue to battle for the Stanley Cup, more than half of the league has been eliminated and is in the offseason. Even though each team will undergo many changes this summer, we can still look at their rosters and get an indication of things to come next year.  After covering the Buffalo Sabres and Toronto Maple Leafs last week, we will now take a look at the Carolina Hurricanes and the New Jersey Devils.

As we will see with both of these clubs, wasted cap space is costly. No matter the size of the team's budget, the money must be allocated efficiently. The proof is in the pudding as both the Hurricanes and the Devils own a few big contracts that are grossly underachieving. As a result, both teams failed to finish in a playoff spot.

Carolina Hurricanes

For the sixth straight year, the Hurricanes failed to qualify for the postseason. Even though there are some positives to draw from the 2014-15 campaign, including some major steps forward from some of the team's top young talents, the team is hurting at every position. Needless to say their outlook is very bleak.

Still, the Hurricanes possess several players that are very prominent in fantasy hockey starting with captain Eric Staal. After being a consistent 70-point guy for many years, his production has slipped mightily with a combined 0.74 points per game over the last two years. This makes Staal's present value very difficult to assess. While it is difficult to project a return to 70 points in his current setting, someone in your fall draft is bound to reach for the star forward.

Looking deeper at Staal's numbers during his production decline, there are signs that an increase could be coming. His shooting percentage the last two years has been just above nine percent, down from his career average of 11 percent. Adjusting his current season to his career average would put Staal at 27 goals, giving him an increase of four.