Norris Division
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Norris_Division".

The NHL's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. The division was named in honor of James E. Norris. It is the fore-runner of the NHL's Central Division. It was often referred to as the "Chuck" Norris Division because of the intense rivalries between it constituent teams, especially the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings, led to many games becoming bloodbaths- fights, bench-clearing brawls and stick fouls.citation needed

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.

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Contents

Division Lineups

1974–1979

Changes from the 1973–1974 season
  • The Norris Division is formed as a result of NHL realignment
  • The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens come from the Eastern Division
  • The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins come from the Western Division
  • The Washington Capitals were added as an expansion team

1979–1981

  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Hartford Whalers
  • Los Angeles Kings
  • Montreal Canadiens
  • Pittsburgh Penguins

Changes from the 1978–1979 season
  • The Hartford Whalers were granted entry into the NHL from the World Hockey Association (WHA)
  • The Washington Capitals move to the Patrick Division

1981–1982

Changes from the 1980–1981 season
  • The Norris Division switches from the Prince of Wales Conference to the Clarence Campbell Conference
  • The Hartford Whalers and Montreal Canadiens move to the Adams Division
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins move to the Patrick Division
  • The Los Angeles Kings move to the Smythe Division
  • The Minnesota North Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs move in from the Adams Division
  • The Chicago Black Hawks, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets move in from the Smythe Division

1982–1986

  • Chicago Black Hawks
  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Minnesota North Stars
  • St. Louis Blues
  • Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 1981–1982 season
  • The Winnipeg Jets move to the Smythe Division

1986–1992

  • Chicago Blackhawks
  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Minnesota North Stars
  • St. Louis Blues
  • Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 1985–1986 season
  • Chicago changes their nickname from the Black Hawks to the Blackhawks

1992–1993

  • Chicago Blackhawks
  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Minnesota North Stars
  • St. Louis Blues
  • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 1991–1992 season
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning were added as an expansion team

After the 1992–1993 season

The league was reformatted into two conferences with two divisions each:

Regular Season Division Champions

Playoff Division Champions

From the 1981–82 season until 1992–93, the playoff champion of the Norris Division met the playoff champion of the Smythe Division in the Campbell Conference Finals. The Norris champions lost the first ten of these conference finals as well as the last one, winning only in 1991 and 1992 (where in both cases they lost the Stanley Cup Final).

Stanley Cup Winners produced

  1. 1976 - Montreal Canadiens
  2. 1977 - Montreal Canadiens
  3. 1978 - Montreal Canadiens
  4. 1979 - Montreal Canadiens

Norris Division Titles Won By Team

Team Number of Championships Won Last Year Won
Montreal Canadiens 7 1981
Chicago Blackhawks 5 1993
Detroit Red Wings 3 1992
Minnesota North Stars 2 1984
St. Louis Blues 2 1987

See also

References
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