canucks666 said:
-Winnipeg
-Hartford
-Quebec City
-Hamilton
-Portland (great success with WHL team)
-Oakland (sure why not - give them one)
in that order. The first 3 I think are absolutely critical. All 3 deserve teams much more than many cities currently with teams.
So....name cities.
Oakland won't get another team - there's already one in San Jose.
Hartford struggled to support the Whalers, good or bad. They won't get one soon.
Quebec City absolutely deserves another shot - the fans bailed after the Nordiques stunk for most of the last 10 years. Give them a franchise that's stable and decent, the fans will turn out.
Hamilton is stuck with Toronto, Buffalo and Ottawa close.
I've always been surprised that Portland or Seattle are never mentioned at the top of the list of cities considered prime spots to move a team to...but when you look at the Seahawks and Mariners and how they struggled for years, I think an owner would be hesitant to move a team there and hope the fan base solidifies quickly - they'll remember years of 20-25,000 crowds at the 55,000-seat Kingdome and picture 10-12,000 fans at best in a hockey arena.
Winnipeg is probably the #2 choice in Canada after Quebec City...meaning they'll likely be waiting for a while.
Alaska (~375,000 people in the entire state - maybe 100,000 in Anchorage if that) simply does not have a big enough fan base to make a team viable there in the NHL - add in conditions in the winter and the simple travel logistics and there's no way a team goes there. And if you thought the ice was bad in Florida, it would be slush at best in Las Vegas.