The Phoenix arena is also a disaster, primarily because of its horrendous location. East Hartford wouldn't be nearly as bad, but bringing the arena out of downtown into an area that's not walkable, has no public transit, and would be more difficult to access from the western part of the state which has more youth hockey teams and fans would be an interesting decision.
The problem with respect to the NHL is that the league does not want a team there. Not to mention the Bruins and Rangers would be opposed to another team coming in, I believe they may even have a right to vote against it or veto it in some regard since it would be a competing market. Bettman is steadfast against a team being in Hartford. The league wants a team in Las Vegas, that is going to happen. Whether it's a move or expansion remains to be seen. That said, with the success of Winnipeg, there is a LOT of groundswell to go back to Quebec - that would happen before Hartford. There is a lot of support for a team in Seattle as well, though they have some arena issues. But were an arena to be built there, they would be ahead of Hartford on the list. There's also Kansas City, who has a facility built and ready to go. I'm not positive on where they stand, but it would be difficult to see them behind Hartford. 06111's list of teams in trouble is faulty - the Devils aren't going anywhere. The Islanders aren't going anywhere except back to Long Island. AZ, Carolina, and Florida are in trouble but you can cross Carolina off the list of teams going to Hartford. That's just not going to happen. If AZ moves, it'd be to Las Vegas or Seattle to keep conference balance. Florida is an option, but again, with Quebec there - an ACTUALLY proven NHL market - they'd be well in front of Hartford.
Building this arena on the premise that an NHL team will come here is foolish. That doesn't mean they shouldn't do it and shouldn't build an arena that would be capable of hosting an NHL team - they should - but politicians and developers trumpeting how Hartford is in a good position to bring back the Whalers is either disingenuous or they all simply have their heads up their ass.