I suggested something like a super league on the Oilers board. How about a process something like this:
Step 1: The league's seven top revenue earners (TOR, DAL, DET, COL, PHI, NYR and MON according to Larry Brooks) retain the rights to the league name, the Stanley Cup, national tv rights and all of their roster players. They also get to have a dispersal draft to choose players off the remaining 23 teams. All 30 teams retain all branding, farm teams, management and staff, their share of the remaining lockout slush fund, rights to negotiate with all players under contract or RFA under previous CBA, and all local sponsorship and tv contracts. The remaining 23 teams get an additional $10M each for their troubles ($230M).
Step 2: NHL holds dispersal draft, signs players to contracts and sets up whatever CBA they want to negotiate with the PA. There would be approximately 175 players in the NHL, and they would be represented by the NHLPA.
Step 3: Remaining 23 teams start new league (lets call it NHL2). $230M goes in to setup and marketing. League imposes its own CBA and the approximately 575 roster players would set up new representation.
Step4: NHL2 moves 5 teams (lets say CAR, FLA, ANH, NSH, PIT) to new markets: Winnipeg, Toronto, Windsor, Philadelphia, Quebec City. So new leagues would look like:
NHL
TOR
DAL
DET
COL
PHI
NYR
MON
NHL2:
East:
OTT
TOR2
Windsor
QC
PHI2
ATL
BOS
TB
NJ
NYI
BUF
WSH
West:
EDM
CGY
VCR
WPG
CHI
MIN
CLB
STL
LA
PHO
SJ
Conclusion: NHL would have the best money earners, the Cup, the best players and would be great hockey. NHL2 would be about competitive balance, have 8 CDN franchises, players' calibre would be about the bottom 575 players in the current NHL (not the best, but still pretty good), can institute any rules they want.