Which four NHL teams would I eliminate? Anaheim, Carolina, Columbus, and Atlanta would certainly be on my short list. So would the Nashville Predators and Florida Panthers. I’m generally skeptical of locating teams in parts of the country where you can’t ice skate outside even in the dead of winter. Of the six, I might save Anaheim and Carolina, because they’ve produced some good teams (which is a reason neither San Jose nor Tampa Bay is on my list), and I don’t think it makes sense to zero out a quality team. In any event, the league should handle this like base closings. First commit to contracting by a set amount, and only then figure out which teams to cut.