Good insights here from pundits north of the border and south of Kentucky. First, from an unnamed author at TSN, Canada’s answer to ESPN:

You have a franchise in Nashville that has shown signs of not being long-term viable but it is not so destitute that it is an absolute foregone conclusion it can’t stay there and, more importantly, there are potential legal roadblocks to re-locating the franchise in the short term.

This is a pretty-fair take on the Preds’ vital signs, and I’m grateful to see it written by someone from Ontario. There’s been plenty of piling on, much of it exaggerated and some of it deserved, about how Nashville hasn’t supported hockey. The truth is that the Preds’  attendance and financial picture aren’t too far below a fair share of NHL clubs, but support, especially of the corporate variety, does need to increase (and soon).

Randy Horick, sports columnist for the Nashville Scene, reiterates a fact that has been easily overshadowed by all the drama that has ensued since the Preds’ sale possibility emerged in May:

If ticket sales push the attendance average above 14,000, the lease is unbreakable. And that means that, in effect, the real owners of the Predators are the residents and corporate leaders of the Nashville area. The next move literally is up to us.

I’ve quickly tired of this undulating pattern of good and bad news about the Predators’ fate, but I have not tired of watching my favorite team take the ice. Say what you will, this team does not have to go anywhere, and there is plenty that those of us here Nashville can do to see that that is exactly what happens.