What can fantasy owners expect for the Red Wings and Islanders next season?

While only the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning remain in the battle for the Stanley Cup, most of the teams have been eliminated and have begun their 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.  The goal will not be to cover every player, but rather to focus more in-depth on some areas of great interest to fantasy owners, especially cases where there is some uncertainty that has a great impact on player values. As we continue our march through the Eastern Conference starting from the bottom, today we will now take a look at the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders.

Detroit Red Wings

The Wings are clearly a team in transition with their two best players – Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg – in their mid-30s and not going to remain elite-level players forever. However, unlike many other teams that go through similar phases, this team has never bottomed out and this year qualified for their 24^th consecutive playoff appearance. The team's pipeline has helped tremendously as they have promoted several young players to their main roster in recent years, many of which are already playing key roles.

The most prolific of the recent graduations are a pair of young forwards in Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar. Nyqust's 54-point campaign was not unexpected as he already had a 48-point year (in 57 games) under his belt. His drop-off in points per game was expected given that his shooting percentage stood at an unsustainable 18.3 percent in 2013-14. Where things go from here remains to be seen. While some personal growth and maturation as a player will help things along, there are areas of concern. His 2014-15 shooting percentage (13.8 percent) is still high and he was very reliant on the power play to collect his points, gaining 24 of his 54 points on the man advantage. The good news is that he is frequently lined up on Zetterberg's line as the team captain has done a better job staying healthy. This stability will help Nyquist. All things considered, look for him to stay in the same 50-point range in 2015-16.

Tatar, on the other hand, surprised many by increasing his 2013-14 total of 39 points by almost 50 percent. Most notably, his 29 goals were tops on the Wings. His shooting percentage (13.7 percent) is a bit high but his shooting frequency is trending up so it will probably be a wash overall. Unlike Nyquist, Tatar is often on Datsyuk's line. With his centerman's durability in question, it could put a cap on Tatar's potential for the foreseeable future. However, if Datsyuk managed to play a full schedule it would do wonders to linemates such as Tatar.