This is really bad news.
For the USA, and for the NHL, it must make itself a sports that is valid in every part of the country. If the NHL gets run out of the economic capital of the South, then its going to fail elsewhere such as Phoenix, Nashville, Raleigh, etc. Left as a niche sport which national networks have no interest in. If it is a sport that Canada and border USA states ONLY follow, then its not going to be on TV nationally, not going to be covered nationally, not going to be important nationally in the USA.
For Winnipeg, and Canada, this is a problem. As mentioned, Winnipeg and Quebec failed because of a weak C$. Economies are cyclical. Politics change. OK, today the US$ and the C$ are at par, which is the best C$ position ever. Explain to me how you are going to make it 5 or 10 or 15 years from now when its back to 60 cents on, or you are doomed to failure again, and there will not be an Atlanta or a Phoenix waiting to take the teams off your hands. Further, Winnipeg is simply a small market in the middle of farm country. You are asking 690K people to support a team in a major league, with pretty much no regional TV infastructure to supplement it.
The NHL needs to do everything it can to keep its southern and southwestern teams going, and get teams in Houston, Seattle, Kansas City, and Las Vegas.