West Division (NHL)

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The West Division of the National Hockey League existed from 1967, when the NHL was made up of a single division, until 1974 when the league realigned its format into two conferences of two divisions each.

In 1967 the NHL doubled in size, going from six teams to twelve. The Original Six, as the pre-1967 teams were known, were grouped into the East Division, while the expansion teams were placed into the new West Division. This was done in order to keep teams of similar strength in the same division, regardless of geographic distance.[1]

When the NHL expanded again in 1970, the two new teams, the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, were placed into the stronger East Division. To create a more balanced alignment, the Chicago Black Hawks were transferred into the West Division. The NHL expanded again in 1972; each division was given one of the expansion clubs, with the New York Islanders joining the East Division.

By 1974, another two teams entered the league, and the league underwent a major overhaul. The East and West Divisions were renamed the Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences, respectively, composed of nine teams each. The conferences were further divided into two divisions: the Norris and Adams Divisions for the Wales Conference; the Patrick and Smythe Divisions for the Campbell Conference. Because the Conferences were not composed based on geography, the league opted to name the conferences and divisions after historical figures associated with the NHL.

Contents

[edit] Composition of the West Division

[edit] Final Standings, 1968–74

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

[edit] 1967–68

1967–68 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Philadelphia Flyers 74 31 32 11 73 173 179 987
Los Angeles Kings 74 31 33 10 72 200 224 810
St. Louis Blues 74 27 31 16 70 177 191 792
Minnesota North Stars 74 27 32 15 69 191 226 738
Pittsburgh Penguins 74 27 34 13 67 195 216 554
Oakland Seals [2] 74 15 42 17 47 153 219 787

[edit] 1968–69

1968–69 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
St. Louis Blues 76 37 25 14 88 204 157 838
Oakland Seals 76 29 36 11 69 219 251 811
Philadelphia Flyers 76 20 35 21 61 174 225 964
Los Angeles Kings 76 24 42 10 58 185 260 698
Pittsburgh Penguins 76 20 45 11 51 189 252 677
Minnesota North Stars 76 18 43 15 51 189 270 862

[edit] 1969–70

1969–70 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
St. Louis Blues 76 37 27 12 86 224 179 876
Pittsburgh Penguins 76 26 38 12 64 182 238 1038
Minnesota North Stars 76 19 35 22 60 224 257 1008
Oakland Seals 76 22 40 14 58 169 243 845
Philadelphia Flyers 76 17 35 24 58 197 225 1123
Los Angeles Kings 76 14 52 10 38 168 290 969

[edit] 1970–71

1970–71 NHL season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Chicago Black Hawks 78 49 20 9 107 277 184 1280
St. Louis Blues 78 34 25 19 87 223 208 1092
Philadelphia Flyers 78 28 33 17 73 207 225 1060
Minnesota North Stars 78 28 34 16 72 191 223 898
Los Angeles Kings 78 25 40 13 63 239 303 775
Pittsburgh Penguins 78 21 37 20 62 221 240 1079
California Golden Seals 78 20 53 5 45 199 320 937

[edit] 1971–72

1971–72 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Chicago Black Hawks 78 46 17 15 107 256 166 844
Minnesota North Stars 78 37 29 12 86 212 191 853
St. Louis Blues 78 28 39 11 67 208 247 1150
Pittsburgh Penguins 78 26 38 14 66 220 258 978
Philadelphia Flyers 78 26 38 14 66 200 236 1233
California Golden Seals 78 21 39 18 60 216 288 1007
Los Angeles Kings 78 20 49 9 49 206 305 719

[edit] 1972–73

1972–73 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Chicago Black Hawks 78 42 27 9 93 284 225 864
Philadelphia Flyers 78 37 30 11 85 296 256 1756
Minnesota North Stars 78 37 30 11 85 254 230 881
St. Louis Blues 78 32 34 12 76 233 251 1195
Pittsburgh Penguins 78 32 37 9 73 257 265 866
Los Angeles Kings 78 31 36 11 73 232 245 888
Atlanta Flames 78 25 38 15 65 191 239 852
California Golden Seals 78 16 46 16 48 213 323 840

[edit] 1973–74

1973–74 GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM
Philadelphia Flyers 78 50 16 12 112 273 164 1750
Chicago Black Hawks 78 41 14 23 105 272 164 877
Los Angeles Kings 78 33 33 12 78 233 231 1055
Atlanta Flames 78 30 34 14 74 214 238 841
Pittsburgh Penguins 78 28 41 9 65 242 273 950
St. Louis Blues 78 26 40 12 64 206 248 1147
Minnesota North Stars 78 23 38 17 63 235 275 821
California Golden Seals 78 13 55 10 36 195 342 651

[edit] West Division Champions

For a list of the division champions, see Clarence Campbell Trophy.

[edit] Stanley Cup champions produced


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[edit] References

  1. ^ MacKinnon, John (1996). NHL Hockey: The Official Fans' Guide. Vancouver: Raincoast Book Distribution Ltd., 128. 
  2. ^ Named "California Seals" for the first month of the season, after which they were renamed "Oakland Seals"
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