Conference | Wales Conference (1974–1981) Campbell Conference (1981–1993) |
---|---|
League | National Hockey League |
Sport | Ice hockey |
Founded | 1974 |
Ceased | 1993 |
Replaced by | Central Division |
Most titles | Montreal Canadiens (7) |
The National Hockey League's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. When the NHL realigned into geographic divisions in 1981, the division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference, where it comprised the league's Great Lakes and Midwest teams, with the Detroit Red Wings being the only member to remain from the previous season. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. The division was named in honour of James E. Norris, longtime owner of the Red Wings. It is the forerunner of the NHL's Central Division. Intense rivalries developed between its constituent teams, which through the 1980s were noted for enforcer-heavy squads that had poor performances – qualifying for the playoffs with .500 points percentages, and achieving no Stanley Cup titles or appearances in the finals – but great local popularity. [1] [2] [3] Despite the division's reputation, the 1985–86 St. Louis Blues made an impressive cinderella run by reaching the Conference Finals where it took the Calgary Flames 7 games to dispatch them following The Monday Night Miracle, and the 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals.
As part of his shtick, ESPN's Chris Berman often refers to the National Football League's NFC North division (previously the NFC Central division) as the Norris Division or "NFC Norris" since the two divisions included teams from three of the same cities: Chicago, Detroit, and Minneapolis–St. Paul. The Tampa Bay Area was also briefly represented in both divisions simultaneously, during the 1992–93 NHL season.
The league was reformatted into two conferences with two divisions each:
(#) | Denotes team that won the Stanley Cup |
(#) | Denotes team that won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, but lost Stanley Cup Finals |
(#) | Denotes team that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs |
‡ | Denotes team with most points in the regular season (winner of the Presidents' Trophy since 1985–86) |
Season | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1974–75 | (DC) Montreal (113) | (1) Los Angeles (105) | (3) Pittsburgh (89) | Detroit (58) | Washington (21) | |
1975–76 | (DC) Montreal (127)‡ | (3) Los Angeles (85) | (5) Pittsburgh (82) | Detroit (62) | Washington (32) | |
1976–77 | (DC) Montreal (132)‡ | (3) Los Angeles (83) | (4) Pittsburgh (81) | Washington (62) | Detroit (41) | |
1977–78 | (DC) Montreal (129)‡ | (5) Detroit (78) | (6) Los Angeles (77) | Pittsburgh (68) | Washington (48) | |
1978–79 | (DC) Montreal (115) | (5) Pittsburgh (85) | (7) Los Angeles (80) | Washington (63) | Detroit (62) | |
1979–80 | (3) Montreal (107) | (12) Los Angeles (74) | (13) Pittsburgh (73) | (14) Hartford (73) | Detroit (63) | |
1980–81 | (3) Montreal (103) | (4) Los Angeles (99) | (15) Pittsburgh (73) | Hartford (60) | Detroit (56) | |
1981–82 | Minnesota (94) | Winnipeg (80) | St. Louis (72) | Chicago (72) | Toronto (56) | Detroit (54) |
1982–83 | Chicago (104) | Minnesota (96) | Toronto (68) | St. Louis (65) | Detroit (57) | |
1983–84 | Minnesota (88) | St. Louis (71) | Detroit (69) | Chicago (68) | Toronto (61) | |
1984–85 | St. Louis (86) | Chicago (83) | Detroit (66) | Minnesota (62) | Toronto (48) | |
1985–86 | Chicago (86) | Minnesota (85) | St. Louis (83) | Toronto (57) | Detroit (40) | |
1986–87 | St. Louis (79) | Detroit (78) | Chicago (72) | Toronto (70) | Minnesota (70) | |
1987–88 | Detroit (93) | St. Louis (76) | Chicago (69) | Toronto (52) | Minnesota (51) | |
1988–89 | Detroit (80) | St. Louis (78) | Minnesota (70) | Chicago (66) | Toronto (62) | |
1989–90 | Chicago (88) | St. Louis (83) | Toronto (80) | Minnesota (76) | Detroit (70) | |
1990–91 | Chicago (106)‡ | St. Louis (105) | Detroit (76) | Minnesota (68) | Toronto (57) | |
1991–92 | Detroit (98) | Chicago (87) | St. Louis (83) | Minnesota (70) | Toronto (67) | |
1992–93 | Chicago (106) | Detroit (103) | Toronto (99) | St. Louis (85) | Minnesota (82) | Tampa Bay (53) |
Team | Wins | Last win |
---|---|---|
Montreal Canadiens | 7 | 1981 |
Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | 1993 |
Detroit Red Wings | 3 | 1992 |
Minnesota North Stars | 2 | 1984 |
St. Louis Blues | 2 | 1987 |
Hartford Whalers | 0 | — |
Los Angeles Kings | 0 | — |
Pittsburgh Penguins | 0 | — |
Tampa Bay Lightning | 0 | — |
Toronto Maple Leafs | 0 | — |
Washington Capitals | 0 | — |
Winnipeg Jets | 0 | — |
The 1991–92 NHL season was the 75th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 22 teams with the addition of the expansion San Jose Sharks. For the first time, the Stanley Cup Finals extended into June, with the Pittsburgh Penguins repeating as Stanley Cup champions, winning the best of seven series four games to none against the Chicago Blackhawks.
The 1990–91 NHL season was the 74th season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Pittsburgh Penguins, who won the best of seven series 4–2 against the Minnesota North Stars. This was the last NHL season to end in May.
The 1989–90 NHL season was the 73rd season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Edmonton Oilers, who won the best of seven series 4–1 against the Boston Bruins. The championship was the Oilers' fifth Stanley Cup in the seven seasons from 1983-84 to 1989-90.
The 1980–81 NHL season was the 64th season of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders were the top regular season team and the top playoff team, winning their second consecutive Stanley Cup by defeating the Minnesota North Stars in five games.
The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers, and Quebec Nordiques joined the NHL, bringing the total to 21 teams. The other two WHA teams were paid to disband.
The 1969–70 NHL season was the 53rd season of the National Hockey League. For the third straight season, the St. Louis Blues reached the Stanley Cup Finals, and for the third straight year, the winners of the expansion West Division were swept four games to none. This time, however, it was at the hands of the Boston Bruins, as the defending champions Montreal Canadiens narrowly missed the playoffs, something that did not happen again for the next quarter century. With both the Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs missing the 1970 Stanley Cup playoffs, it was the first time in league history that no Canadian team in the NHL qualified for the playoffs. It was also the final season that teams wore their colored jerseys at home until the 2003–04 season.
The 1975–76 NHL season was the 59th season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the defending champion Philadelphia Flyers in the final.
The 1976–77 NHL season was the 60th season of the National Hockey League. The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Barons. The Montreal Canadiens once again dominated the playoffs as, for the second straight year, they swept their opponent four games to none in the final series for the Stanley Cup.
The 1977–78 NHL season was the 61st season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup in a row, defeating the Boston Bruins four games to two in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The 1978–79 NHL season was the 62nd season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens beat the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals four games to one for their fourth consecutive Cup; two "Original Six" teams would not meet again in the Finals for the next 34 years, when Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Finals. The Bruins faced the Canadiens in the 1979 semifinals, marking the last appearance by three Original Six teams in the final four for the next 35 years, when the Blackhawks, Canadiens and Rangers reached the semifinals of the 2014 playoffs.
The 1981 NHL Entry Draft was the 19th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 211 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1980–81 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.
The National Hockey League's Adams Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Adams, the founder of the Boston Bruins. It is the forerunner of the NHL's Northeast Division, which later became the Atlantic Division.
The National Hockey League's Central Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. Its predecessor was the Norris Division and its also one of two successors to the Northwest Division. The Chicago Blackhawks have been a member of the Central Division in all of its seasons since the original 1993 realignment. The Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues were also original members of the division, but were realigned to a different division for a while before returning; both the Coyotes and Stars were moved to the Pacific Division in 1998, while the Blues were moved to the West Division during the temporary 2021 realignment. Three of its teams—the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets —joined the NHL in the league's last expansion phase between 1998 and 2000. The fourth team in that group, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was once a member of the Central Division, but moved to the Metropolitan Division after the 2013 realignment.
The East Division of the National Hockey League existed from 1967 until 1974 when the league realigned into two conferences of two divisions each. The division was reformed for the 2020–21 NHL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs, the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) began on April 18, after the conclusion of the 1991–92 NHL season. The Stanley Cup was won by the Pittsburgh Penguins, defeating the Chicago Blackhawks in the Finals, in four games.
The 1981–82 St. Louis Blues season was the 15th for the franchise in St. Louis, Missouri. The Blues finished the regular-season with a record of 32 wins, 40 losses and eight ties, good for 72 points, and qualified for the playoffs with their third-place finish. The Blues defeated the Jets, three games to one in the division semi-finals, before losing the Norris Division final to the Black Hawks in six games.
The 1981–82 Detroit Red Wings season was the 50th season as the Red Wings, 56th overall for the franchise.
The Blackhawks–Blues rivalry is a National Hockey League (NHL) rivalry featuring two teams in the league's Western Conference Central Division, the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues. Since 1970, the two teams have been in the same division. It is the most intense rivalry in terms of penalty minutes and fighting, and at the height of the rivalry during the Norris Division days, it was common to go to a Chicago vs. St. Louis game and see a brawl break out.