I agree with your general approach, but I like the idea of a hockey league that has no more than 24 teams. There are really only eight solid hockey markets in North America these days, and by this I mean markets where a team can draw a lot of fans and pay competitive salaries even in marginal years. These include the Original Six franchises, plus Philadelphia and Edmonton. A "second tier" group of teams would include larger U.S. cities like St. Louis, the Twin Cities, and perhaps Los Angeles, along with smaller Canadian cities like Vancouver, Calgary, and Winnipeg.
24 teams is OK with me- as long as Minnesota doesn't get shafted. LOL