As the dust continues to settle in the post-lockout NHL, it is becoming more and more clear that the league, while it can survive in its current state, would be much better suited following either contraction or relocation. It is VERY unlikely that we will see contraction any time soon in the NHL, but the possibly of relocation is intriguing. Teams like the Florida Panthers and the Nashville Predators will seemingly never draw major crowds. It may appear that Gary Bettman deserves credit for saving for the NHL and I believe he does; the only problem is, is that Gary Bettman is the reason the NHL needed saving in the first place. The overexpansion of the 90's is what put the NHL into pre-lockout mess that it was in. Markets that never should've been considered for NHL teams, were not only considered but granted organizations. I understand that cities like Phoenix and Nashville have strong fanbases, but they are not hockey markets and those fanbases are barely, if at all, enough to fully support an NHL team.

The NHL took teams out of hockey markets in Winnipeg, Minnesota, Hartford and Quebec, not because these cities couldn't support teams, but because these cities couldn't support teams that couldn't win. In the new era of the salary cap, all of these cities, with the right amenities, could support NHL teams. The argument that the NHL can never be a top professional league is fundamentally flawed. The belief is that, if the league can't contend with the NFL, NBA, and MLB in America, it simply is a failure. Well, simply put, the league can survive without the U.S. In Canada, the league is as strong as ever, with support to put even an another team in Ontario. In hockey areas, like MInnesota, and the Northeast, the NHL is also as strong as ever. Unfortunately, the success of the NHL is based on the success of teams in markets like Florida, Nashville, Phoenix, Carolina, and other markets that most likely never should have been given teams  in the first place. There's still plenty of to correct these mistakes, but it's up to a current regime, in Gary Bettman and friends, that aren't very likely to admit they made an enormous mistake in overexpansion.

If it were up to me, I would most likely combine the Coyotes and Panthers, and move them back to Winnipeg. I would move the Nashville Predators into Quebec, finally I would return the Carolina Hurricanes back to Hartford. I would leave it at that for the time being, then re-evaluate the success of the league. I understand that not all teams are going to be successful on the ice every year (and that does reflect in off the ice success), but the league can at least give every organization a fair shot at off ice success.