"Healthiest it has ever been" is a dramatically relative argument.
The NHL contracted from 10 teams to 6 between 1930 and 1944.
The "golden era" was great for the six markets, but the league, and the sport itself stagnated badly, leading to European dominance internationally.
The Expansion era was dominated by relocation and contraction.
The 80s were a second period of stagnation, which was why the second expansion phase was hatched.
The 90s and 2000s saw great financial instability on a wide scale, even as revenues ballooned.
Is the league as healthy now as it has ever been? One could make an argument.
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