There is more than enough talent worldwide to support the, now 32, NHL teams, and probably enough to go to 36. Why are we talking about contraction? Did you all not watch what Vegas did last year? A team made up of mostly 3rd liners finally gets the chance to play some top level minutes and, boom, made it to the SCF.
There is a depth of talent out there today, much, much, much more than there was decades ago. The NCAA is now contributing 30+% of the players to the league, and there aren't even enough NCAA D1 hockey schools in the USA for all the talent so very good players are ending up in D3 and ACHA D1. The USA overall is contributing more and more depth and high level players to the NHL. European talent all over the NHL. The NHL is no longer just a league of mostly Canadian players, it is truly a worldwide league. The talent depth is there for even more expansion if the NHL wants to do it, but it may be a good idea to what a decade or two before adding on. Give it 10 to 20 years before adding more teams.