This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, having grown up in the south I can tell you the two most beloved sports are Football and Spring football practice. Bettman needs to get his skull examined to think that the NHL would succeed in places like Nashville, ATL, and Pho. Here's how I see it, in MY perfect world.
Cities losing a team:
Phoenix
Nashville
Atlanta
Columbus
Florida
Cities gaining a team:
Winnipeg
Quebec
Hamilton: Balsillie gets his team! Why the hell Bettman doesn't want a rich passionate owner I'll never know.
Toronto: Gets a second team
Seattle
And if the NHL expands to 32, two of these cities:
Las Vegas
Portland
Milwaukee
maybe Kansas City
This isn't perfect, The Stars stay in Dallas and it doesn't look like the Whalers will ever go back to Hartford, but it's a hell of a lot better than it is now! Bird