The real NHL season is upon us. Ottawa, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers gave us a taste of real action last weekend.

Now the whole league is cranking up. Naturally, fantasy general managers want to answer some addition questions arising from the preseason:

What will become of the unsigned players? Mats Sundin remains coy about his future plans. Speculation has run the gamut, from retirement to imminent return. He could also pull a Forsberg and return to the NHL later this season. Other notable unsigned players include Forsberg (iffy because of chronic foot injuries), Glen Murray (hobbled by an ankle injury), Brendan Shanahan, Bryan Berard and Mark Parrish.

Will they wait for injuries to hit would-be employers or will they take less money to get back into the NHL? Will any of them give up looking for work here and head to Europe?

Are the Blues really better? Andy McDonald and Lee Stempniak were massive fantasy disappointments last season. In five preseason games, though, they combined for 25 points. Coach Andy Murray put them on a line with Brad Boyes (five preseason goals in five games) for a classic one-passer, two-shooter configuration. Murray will shuffle his lines all season, but these guys DID develop some chemistry this fall. Will it carry over to the real games?

The St. Louis schedule is front-loaded with home games, so look for at least some of the Blues to enjoy fast starts. Look out for the Paul Kariya-Patrik Berglund-David Perron line; it could produce three major fantasy surprises for this season.

Can Patrick O’Sullivan get into gear? He finally worked out a new long-term deal right before the regular season. Last year, he emerged as a viable NHL scorer with 22 goals and 53 points. He has the potential to become a point-per-game scorer, but he just missed training camp and the entire preseason schedule.

It will be interesting to see how long it takes him to regain his conditioning and timing. And once he is back to full speed, where will the Kings put him? Maybe, just maybe, he could be a breakout player this year.

What will become of Marian Gaborik? The explosive (but oft-injured) winger has teased fantasy GMs since coming into the league. This fall is no different, since his inability to agree to a contract extension with the Wild throws his future into question.

Would Minnesota deal him sooner than later, boosting his fantasy value by sending him to a more offensive-minded team? Or will this issue hang over his head and cause distractions for an already low-scoring team?

Can the Blue Jackets score? Fantasy GMs didn’t like much of this group beyond Rick Nash in most drafts, but playmaking winger Kristian Huselius could be a nice running mate . . . if he can check well enough to please Ken Hitchcock. Nash scored eight points in four preseason games, so there is hope. R.J. Umberger could become a fantasy factor and rookies Jakub Voracek and Derick Brassard could make noise as well.

Brassard lost some valuable preseason seasoning after suffering a neck injury, but he could earn some time with Nash and Huselius. The loss of winger Raffi Torres (shoulder sprain) until mid-November will hurt, however.