There is no doubt that the NHL gets back to Arizona, and probably sooner rather than later. They need a few years to let the 'stink' of the Coyotes go away, but there is no way the NHL doesn't get back in there.
https://www.thoughtco.com/largest-me...-areas-1435135
The only top 10 USA metro areas that the NHL is not currently in are Atlanta (9th) and Phoenix (10th). I think the NHL has realized how to expand more successfully. I think they will just be patient until they find an owner with legitimately deep enough pockets (and bonus points if he has another sports team) and an arena ready to go (or at least has the go-ahead to be built so when the expansion team is ready to play in the new location, the building will be ready).
With the new expansion rules, these new franchises can find some success right away. It sucks as fans of teams that go through long periods of lacklustre results - I certainly don't appreciate how easy Vegas fans have had it - but it does create a lot more community support for the team right away. Also sucks when your team loses a good player to expansion. However, I do think the NHL has been doing well when it comes to expansion and figuring things out now. I think that their next few rounds of expansion - including in Phoenix - will be successful.
I am a little surprised that there is some chatter about the NHL back in Phoenix right away, but I guess it shouldn't be so surprising given the size of the market. I wouldn't be surprised if both Phoenix and Atlanta will be expansion markets being planned around for ~ 2028, when the existing US TV deal is over. Bringing in two major markets (and having full coverage for the top 10) might be a feather in the NHL's cap during negotiations on a new TV deal.