Fucking Atlanta is going to wind up getting a 3rd kick at the can in a city that doesn't and never will give two shits about the NHL Maybe when this one inevitably folds, Quebec City, with its NHL-ready arena, might finally get a second chance.
As for Houston, I have no issues. It's a better market than Phoenix, at least, and has had some form of hockey for decades, going back to the Houston Apollos, a Habs farm team that started the careers of Guy Lapointe, Tony Esposito, Jacques Lemaire, Rogie Vachon, Mickey Redmond, and Serge Savard.