Search:

No, contraction is not going to happen, but if one wanted only 24 teams in the NHL, which teams would you fold?

Yes, Las Vegas would be another candidate IMO.
But a reduction of seven teams would...

Purely out of curiosity, which teams would you fold to get to 24-26?

Arizona, Carolina, Florida...

Islanders? New Jersey? Tampa Bay? Buffalo?

All the more reason to have another potential western location.
Seattle and Kansas City as target cities - one for expansion, one for relocation.
Result: balanced conferences.

It may have more to do with finding a western conference team location.
Remember that the league is still unbalanced with one more eastern team than western teams after the addition of the Golden...