Honestly Resurrection, what you are really doing is justifying what the NHL did in the 90s.
Appeal to revenue? Sure. Lets look at how the Canadian teams were nowhere near the top of the revenue chain. Lets also look at how they were losing gobs of money. The Jets themselves lost as much in 1994-95 as the Coyotes have in pretty much any season - when salaries and expenses were a fraction of what they are now. Stay where the NHL is relevant? There are periods of history in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary, Hartford, etc. where the NHL's relevance was marginal.
Southern expansion a bust? Define "bust". The Coyotes and Panthers, certainly. And I expect both will end with relocation. Tampa? Success. Dallas? Reasonably successful. Nashville? Success albeit with some rough patches. Anaheim? San Jose? LA? Look at what the AHL did yesterday.
More northern and Canadian teams? Ok. Where? Obviously GTA2 and Quebec City for Canada, but there is nowhere else that is feasible. Where in the northern US then? Also, how does xenophobia and a regression to little more than a regional league benefit the NHL?
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