Given the level of hockey coverage here in the States, it may come as a surprise to some that the Phoenix Coyotes—yes, there’s a hockey team in the desert—are in really, really big trouble. That is, the team consistently struggles to put fans in the seats in its new arena, its previous owners filed for bankruptcy in May, its coach—none other than Wayne Gretzky, who has been MIA throughout this saga—resigned on Thursday, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is doing everything in his power to stop the sale of the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie. Why? Because Balsillie wants to move the team to Hamilton, Ont., while Bettman—who gleefully allowed the former Winnipeg Jets to head south 13 years ago in light of similar financial troubles—refuses to acknowledge the royal screwup that is the NHL’s Sun Belt expansion.

Here’s some background. During the 1991-92 season, there were 22 NHL teams, all located above the 36’30 parallel (other than those in Washington D.C., San Jose, and LA, but we can ignore those). In 1992, an eighth Canadian team (the Ottawa Senators) entered the league, but so did the Tampa Bay Lightning. And then the floodgates opened. From 1993 through 1999, the NHL added expansion franchises in Miami, Anaheim, Nashville, and Atlanta, and oversaw the relocation of teams to Dallas (the Minnesota North Stars), Phoenix, and Raleigh, N.C. (the famed Hartford Whalers). In addition, with the relocation of the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado, the NHL now had as many teams in the Sun Belt as it did in Canada. The hope was that the league would expand its popularity throughout the country, instead of in “traditional” hockey markets in the north.

Except it hasn’t. Other than the Hurricanes, the Sun Belt teams have been characterized by consistent mediocrity throughout their respective tenures in the league—the Stars’ and Bolts’ Stanley Cup seasons notwithstanding—and their home cities haven’t exactly welcomed their new tenants with open arms. In the 2008-09 season, Carolina, Tampa Bay, Florida, Nashville, Phoenix, and Atlanta all ranked in the bottom 11 in NHL attendance. (Only one Sun Belt team—no. 14 Dallas—was in the top half.) Meanwhile, five of the six Canadian teams ranked in the top eight. And while teams such as the Thrashers and Predators continue to play in front of rows upon rows of empty seats, large northern markets such as Seattle and Milwaukee still lack franchises to call their own.

Enough is enough. Gary, we’ve all come to the realization that hockey in the South simply isn’t going to catch on, and consistently preventing teams from abandoning their financially unsound situations for greener (or is it whiter?) pastures isn’t going to change that. (Astute observers likely realize this isn’t the first time Bettman has blocked a team from moving to Hamilton—a group led by Balsillie attempted to purchase the Predators in 2007 and move them from Nashville to Hamilton; Balsillie later accused Bettman of forcing the Predators to end negotiations with his group). While it’s true that Hamilton falls within the protected markets of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, a glance at last season’s attendance numbers suggests the market is sufficiently large enough to handle a third team.

It’s pretty difficult to foster parity when only half of the teams in your league have a realistic chance of competing, but that’s the situation in which the NHL now finds itself. And as long as Bettman continues to stick his head in the sand and insist hockey in the South is viable in the long term, the same few teams will continue to dominate the league standings (though if the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs are any indication, the Coyotes will be the league’s new surprise team once their ownership situation gets settled. I’m tempted to say that the NHL should change “Stanley Cup playoffs” to “WWE SmackDown,” but Vince McMahon and friends at least know how to give the illusion of legitimate competition). It’s time to give the fans up north what they want. Hamilton, Quebec City, Milwaukee, Seattle, Indianapolis, and even truly “non-traditional” markets with college hockey powers such as North Dakota, Maine, and Vermont deserve to have the opportunity to show what they can do with a professional team. If it doesn’t work out, acknowledge the mistake and move on. It’s not like the NHL has never before erred in its team placement.