| 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.
1974-79 Norris Division Teams
1979-81 Norris Division Teams
1981-82 Norris Division Teams
1982-86 Norris Division Teams
1986-92 Norris Division Teams
1992-93 Norris Division Teams
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 | — |
|
National Hockey League divisions
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