Complete Preview and Predictions for the Detroit Red Wings in 2015-16

It's the dawn of a new era in Motown.

After 10 years, 10 playoff appearances and one Stanley Cup, coach Mike Babcock has moved on to new challenges, leaving the Detroit Red Wings turn a corner in their franchise's long, storied history.

High-profile veterans like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg continue to get the lion's share of the attention at Joe Louis Arena. Gradually, the Wings have been shifting the balance of responsibility to a talented group of younger players, many of whom learned the pro game in the American Hockey League under Detroit's new coach, Jeff Blashill.

With plenty of top-notch new talent filtering in and the support of a couple of valuable free agents acquired in the offseason, the Red Wings look like they're prepared to move into the post-Babcock era without missing a beat.

Here's the outlook in Detroit for the 2015-16 NHL season.

Key Roster Changes

John L. Russell/Associated Press

Key Departures

• Stephen Weiss (C)
• Marek Zidlicky (D)
• Erik Cole (LW)

Key Additions

• Brad Richards (C)
• Teemu Pulkkinen (LW)
• Mike Green (D)
  
  
• Jeff Blashill (Coach)

The Wings will have all their key players back for the 2015-16 season. The absence of Mike Babcock will be the most-noticeable void on the team.

After being knocked out of the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round for the second-straight season, the Red Wings replaced oft-injured center Stephen Weiss with Brad Richards and inked right-shot defenseman Mike Green to a three-year contract.

According to General Fanager, Detroit currently has 24 NHL contracts on the books and is $1.3 million over the salary cap.

Injured players Pavel Datsyuk and Danny DeKeyser will offer some cap relief when the season begins, but general manager Ken Holland needs to make at least one more adjustment to set up a compliant 23-man opening-day roster.

Projected 2015-16 Depth Chart

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Forwards

Justin Abdelkader - Henrik Zetterberg - Gustav Nyquist

Tomas Tatar - Brad Richards - Darren Helm

Johan Franzen - Riley Sheahan - Teemu Pulkkinen

Drew Miller - Luke Glendening - Tomas Jurco

Pavel Datsyuk - (injured)

Joakim Andersson - Daniel Cleary

Defense

Jonathan Ericsson - Niklas Kronwall

Jakub Kindl - Mike Green

Brendan Smith - Kyle Quincey

Danny DeKeyser (injured)

Goal

Jimmy Howard

Petr Mrazek

Biggest Storylines to Watch

John L. Russell/Associated Press

Impact of the Coaching Change

Mike Babcock loomed larger than life as the head coach of the Red Wings, but the structure of the team shouldn't change too much under new coach Jeff Blashill.

"It’s not much different than how they’ve played here in the past," Blashill told Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News as training camp opened. "It’s just building those principles, making sure we get our principles down."

After coming up through the coaching ranks via the USHL and one year at Western Michigan University, Blashill joined the Detroit organization in 2011. He served as an assistant coach under Babcock for one season before moving to the head coaching job with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins for three years.

The Griffins became Calder Cup champions in Blashill's first season with the team—the NHL's lockout year of 2012-13.

Will Injuries Be An Issue Again?

The Red Wings knew they'd be starting the season without their dazzling-but-fragile center Pavel Datsyuk, while Johan Franzen and Kyle Quincey are coming back from injuries that brought premature ends to their 2014-15 seasons.

Through training camp, other players with health issues have included Darren Helm, Mike Green, Teemu Pulkkinen and Xavier Ouellet, according to a September 27 report from Gregg Krupa of the Detroit Free Press.

Danny DeKeyser's name was the latest to be added to the list when he suffered a sprained ligament in his foot that's likely to keep him sidelined for three to four weeks, per NHL.com.

The Wings seem to struggle constantly to ice a healthy lineup, but those same injuries create NHL showcase opportunities for the young talent that's stashed in Grand Rapids. Dylan Larkin (19) and Anthony Mantha (21) are two offensive stars who have showed will in preseason this year and should get a chance in Detroit if the infirmary starts to fill up again.

Howard or Mrazek?

No. 1 goaltender Jimmy Howard started the 2014-15 season in fine form and was named to the NHL All-Star team just before his season was derailed by a groin injury.

While he was sidelined, rookie Petr Mrazek stepped in—and played well enough to remain Babcock's first choice in net right through the end of Detroit's first-round playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Going into the new season, Blashill is keeping an open mind about how the goalie rotation will shake out.

"I think both have played really, really well, which is what my thought process was going in," Blashill told Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. "We have two guys that both have proven at different times to be elite and both can be elite.

"We'll keep watching them and either create separation or as it has been so far, both played really well."

Best and Worst Case Scenarios

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Best-Case Scenario

In a perfect world, the Red Wings won't miss a beat in their transition from Babcock to Blashill. Datsyuk will return in fine form from his ankle surgery and work his magic for another amazing season as Detroit's younger players continue to assume bigger roles around the aging core.

In net, both Howard and Mrazek will keep up their strong play, setting up the team for high probabilities of success in the early back-to-back games on its schedule.

Worst-Case Scenario

Datsyuk is now 37. Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall are 34. Newcomer Brad Richards is 35, as is Johan Franzen, and Danny Cleary's still hanging around at age 36.

Some brittle old bones will be playing key roles for the Red Wings once again this season, and many of those players are at the age where a decline in their play is becoming inevitable—more of a matter of "when" than "if" they'll start becoming less effective.

If the aging core starts to sag before the young bucks are ready to pick up the slack, the Red Wings' 24-season playoff streak could wind up in jeopardy.

Final Prediction

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Wings are already through the worst of their rebuilding phase.

The team might experience some rough patches as the Jeff Blashill era begins, but it's Blashill who shepherded the development of Wings rising stars like Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Riley Sheahan. Furthermore, it looks like there's plenty more talent waiting in the wings.

Blashill's in the perfect position to replicate the successful path of Jon Cooper, who successfully shepherded his group of young charges from the AHL straight into key roles with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Injuries are a fact of life in Detroit, but they'll open doors for more young players to show their stuff.

Expect another third-place finish in the Atlantic Division in 2015-16. The Red Wings will stretch their postseason streak to 25 consecutive seasons and aim to shake off the disappointment of two straight first-round defeats when they enter the playoffs.