Hey, season's greetings

Usually my predictions are worth the price of paper they're printed on, but as I enter my 14th year covering the NHL, a lot has changed.

We're all about online these days in the newspaper business, so, I guess, you can say my predictions are now worth the price of whatever a web page costs.

As we begin the 2008-09 season, it's time to answer a few burning questions. But I warn, just like your money, don't take these predictions to the bank:

1. Which teams are on the rise?

Edmonton, Chicago and Florida. The Oilers made big trades for power forward Erik Cole and defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky. Sheldon Souray is healthy, and youngsters Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Robert Nilsson are ready to explode. In Chicago, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews will guide this resurging team to the playoffs. And in Florida, where the Panthers haven't made the playoffs since 2000, Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton and Rostislav Olesz will take the reins from dispatched Olli Jokinen, and new coach Peter DeBoer will offer fresh ideas. Florida said enough with the retread coaches. The last time the Panthers brought in an unknown, it was Doug MacLean, who led them to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals.

2. Who will be the first coach fired and first coach hired?

In St. Louis, Erik Johnson is out for the season after tearing his ACL and MCL. The Blues are in a torturous division, and with Chicago and Columbus improving, they could be left in the dust. That puts Andy Murray in a difficult position, and like many coaches, messages get lost in Year 3. John Tortorella, now a TSN analyst, could be Murray's replacement. He's got a history with President John Davidson when J.D. was the Rangers' MSG analyst and Tortorella was the Rangers' assistant coach, although Tortorella's volatility could scare the bejeezus out of this young team.

3. Will Marian Gaborik be this year's Marian Hossa?

Looks that way. Gaborik and the Wild are not getting close on a contract extension, and if Gaborik is unwilling to re-sign, the Wild must trade him. You can't lose an asset such as Gaborik for nothing, even if the Wild is entrenched in a playoff race. One thing for sure: These Internet rumors that Gaborik wants to play in Edmonton are as laughable as Sean Avery jumping up and down in front of Martin Brodeur.

4. Speaking of which, who will be the NHL's biggest villain?

As if there was even a dispute before Rachel Nichols' terrific E:60 interview on ESPN, the hands-down winner is Avery, now with Dallas after an offseason interning at Vogue magazine. Nobody is more hated in the NHL among his peers than Avery, and it's clear he doesn't care.

Avery didn't change opinions with this comment:

"The NHL does a terrible job of marketing. They haven't figured it out that villains and heroes are what sells. ... Nobody cares about Jarome Iginla and guys like that. They're just not exciting enough. They don't bring enough for the game."

Said Craig Conroy, Iginla's Calgary teammate now and Avery's former teammate in L.A.: "I don't know who's more exciting. You've got a power forward, he does it all -- he'll fight, hit, score goals. As far as marketing the league, we should let Aves do it. The way he markets himself, he probably would do a great job."

5. Will Mats Sundin play this season?

Clearly he wants to pull a Peter Forsberg, and boy, that sure worked out for Forsberg and Colorado last season. One thing's for sure: The NHL needs to nip this in the bud. After Forsberg, Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne made midseason comebacks last season, it's clear this is going to become an epidemic.