The Week Ahead: A Canadian Adventure

Staff photo by Derek Davis/Portland Press Herald via Getty ImagesWe back.

The big talk around Smashville these days is of the — seemingly — inevitable rebuild that’s right around the corner. Players like Mattias Ekholm, Dante Fabbro, Mikael Granlund, and Ryan McDonagh have been mentioned as deadline fodder, while others have implored the team to consider the unthinkable, putting Juuse Saros on the block to fully #EmbraceTheTank.

In the background of all of this, the Nashville Predators are quietly playing some good hockey. They’re 6-2-2 in their last 10 games (and arguably played well enough to win in three of those losses), have 24 goals in their past 5 games, and in the games where the…