Fearless predictions

Allan Muir

Flightless fowl: Michel Therrien's plummeting Penguins will likely leaving him chewing on the help-wanted ads. AP

The next coach to be given the opportunity to spend more time with his family: Michel Therrien

Hard to believe we're talking about salvaging the season of the defending Eastern Conference champs, but hey, you lose seven of eight to drop out of the playoff picture and the knives start to come out. Therrien isn't fully to blame for this mess -- GM Ray Shero should go to the box and feel shame for being the architect behind this wingless construct -- but as the Pens keep discovering new ways to lose, Therrien's pushing all the wrong buttons. And with trades so difficult to make (see below) and so much on the line for a team that's maxed out against the cap, the coach is the easiest to scapegoat. Craig Hartsburg (Ottawa) and Barry Trotz (Nashville) might not want to make any long-term plans, either.

Team with the most balls in the John Tavares lottery: Islanders.

If there's one constant in my Power Rankings mailbag, it's the gentle suggestion from Islanders fans that perhaps their last place team would more fairly be rated 31st or 32nd, just below the Hershey Bears or Boston University Terriers.

Although the team's fortunes haven't yet sunk quite that low (no disrespect to the AHL's Bears or NCAA's Terriers), fans who think they've seen the worst of their heroes might want to buckle up. Contenders are already sniffing around for any meat left on the bone, and veterans like Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, Brendan Witt and Doug Weight aren't long for the Isle. Moving any or all of them will hobble an already weak side, but the thought of Tavares (or consolation prize Victor Hedman) in blue and orange should help dull the pain.

Next GM to enjoy the view from a golden parachute: Don Waddell.

He appeared to have Atlanta on the right track just five years ago, but Waddell's parsimony (letting Marc Savard go to free agency) and poor asset management (trading Braydon Coburn for Alexei Zhitnik; sending first- and second-rounders to St. Louis for six weeks of Keith Tkachuk) sent the Thrashers off the rails. Now nine years into a five-year plan, Waddell's shoddily constructed squad is nowhere near to being competitive for a playoff spot let alone the Cup, and the system lacks a clear impact player outside of 2008 top pick Zach Bogosian. At some point, Waddell has to be called on his incompetence, doesn't he?

The year's first noteworthy trade will center around Tomas Kaberle.

Toronto GM Bryan Burke is right -- the CBA desperately needs a re-write to allow teams to hold on to salary when moving players. Cap restrictions have choked off the art of midseason trading to the point that Mike Blunden for Adam Pineault is about as impactful as it gets. With few contenders having any real cap space to play with this season, expect any big deals to be pushed back to the two weeks or so prior to the March 4 trade deadline to minimize the financial hit . . . and expect Kaberle to be the premier target. The All-Star defender is a skilled puck mover -- always a prized commodity -- and he's signed for two more years at a very reasonable $4.25 million. He'll have to waive a no-trade, but he'll do it for the right team . . . and Toronto's rebuilding project will take a giant leap forward.

Mueller, Turris and Boedker. AP

The buzz discussion of the second half: the fate of the Coyotes.

The first significant sporting casualty of the worldwide economic meltdown will be the cash-strapped Coyotes. Rumors of the team's folding before season's end don't pass the smell test -- the league will continue to prop them up financially to avoid losing face -- but the NHL will only throw good money after bad for so long. Unless a savior rides in on a white horse (anyone still have Jim Balsillie's number?), the franchise may be finished in Phoenix . . .and then the fun will start with the dispersal of the talent. Would it be transferred to a possible expansion club or would there be a draft? If it's the latter, who gets first shot at young stars like Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker and Peter Mueller: the cellar dwellers or the wealthy teams that helped float the Coyotes all these years? Things could get very ugly.

The Eastern playoff bracket will include three Southleast teams.

Sorry, meant to type Southeast...old habits, ya know. But with the Capitals contending for first overall and the Hurricanes and Panthers solidly in the mix, everyone's favorite whipping division is proving to be surprisingly competitive. Carolina's fortunes were revitalized when Paul Maurice stepped in for Peter Laviolette and revamped the overly aggressive forecheck. Florida took a little longer to respond to the puck pressure demands of new coach Pete DeBoer, but he's becoming an Adams Trophy dark horse for his re-invention of the formerly passive Panthers. It'll be the first time since the league went to the six-division format in 1998-99 that three teams from the Southeast qualify.

Peter Forsberg will sign with...

Now that one wandering Swede -- Mats Sundin -- has come in from the cold, will Foppa follow? He's willing and in the process of finding out of he's able to make another NHL comeback, but that doesn't mean suitors are lining up on the left. Last year's comeback with the Avalanche was marred by his inability to stay in the lineup, and his intermittent availability was as much a distraction as his presence was a help. Still, Colorado's the most likely to come a courtin'. They're in a precarious position at the moment with top centers Joe Sakic and Paul Statsny on IR, but they've played well of late to stay in the playoff hunt and have close to $5 million in cap space. If Forsberg comes back, it'll be for the franchise with whom he's played 729 of his 857 career games.

Darren Eliot

Mason: the Calder awaits. AP

Mats Sundin signing in Vancouver won't put the Canucks over the top. In fact, they will fall from the top eight and miss the playoffs.

The Blue Jackets will make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history on the strength of play down the stretch by Rookie-of-the-Year-to-be, goaltender Steve Mason.

The Stars won't participate in the NHL playoffs, but Sean Avery will, albeit in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins will add a well-known winger who ends up fitting in on Sidney Crosby's line and saves their season at least enough to get into the playoffs.

The Red Wings will determine that they won't win the Stanley Cup with their current goaltending tandem. There will be at least two multi-players blockbuster trades before the deadline, one of which will see a goaltender currently toiling for a non-playoff team landing in Detroit.

Sarah Kwak

Shanahan: Like old times. AP

Brendan Shanahan will help heal the Devils' power play woes.

After waiting nearly three months for an opportunity to play, the 21-year NHL veteran agreed to terms with his first NHL team. Although he's returning to the team that drafted him in the first round in 1987, it won't be much of a reunion. No relics from his previous stint remain on the team -- well, to be fair, no one is still in the NHL, save Claude Lemieux and his recent comeback effort.

"The major impetus of this was to bring (him) to our power play and specialty teams, which has really been a forte of his in recent years," Devils GM Lou Lamoriello said.

The Devils, whose middling power play finds success just 17.6 percent of the time, are hoping that Shanahan, 40, will add depth at the point, given that more than a third of his goals (and points) have come with a man advantage. Last year, with the Rangers, Shanahan ranked second on the team with 11 power play goals. His 2009 debut vs. Nashville on Monday night featured a PP tally, suggesting that the Devils have indeed added some valuable punch, and at a reasonable price, too: a pro-rated $383,000 cap hit.

Goaltender Steve Mason will win the Calder Trophy.

I second Darren Eliot's opinion. Since being called up from the AHL in Nov., the 20-year-old Columbus netminder has scaled the leaderboard in save percentage (.938) and GAA (1.75) through the first half. The 2008 World Juniors MVP has become a quick study in the NHL, recording a league-high six shutouts in just 25 games, including a 45-save performance on Jan. 9 against leading scorer Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals. And with first-stringer Pascal Leclaire on injured reserve for the rest of the season, Mason will have even more time to solidify his No. 1 status for the Blue Jackets, who are hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, and prove that he's the best rookie on the ice this season.

Your turn

Agree? Disagree? Have some predictions of your own? Weigh in here.

For SI's first-half report, see the current issue of Sports Illustrated, on sale Jan. 21