Central Division (NHL)

The NHL's Central Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. Its predecessor was the Norris Division. As part of the 2013 realignment, the Central Division expanded into 7 teams. It is also one of two successors to the Northwest Division. Three of its teams—the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets (as the Atlanta Thrashers)—joined the NHL in the league's last expansion phase between 1998 and 2000. The fourth team in that group, the Columbus Blue Jackets, is no longer part of the Central Division, having moved to the Metropolitan Division. After the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights to the Pacific Division in 2017, the Central Division is currently the only division in the NHL without eight teams. This situation will remain until the 2021–22 NHL season, when the Seattle Kraken enter the league in the Pacific Division and the Arizona Coyotes are realigned into the Central Division.[1]

Central Division
ConferenceWestern Conference
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
FormerlyNorris Division
Founded1993
Teams
No. of teams7 (8 in 2021)
Championships
Most recent champion(s)St. Louis Blues (4th title)
Most titlesDetroit Red Wings (13 titles)

The Central Division has sent five teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs on seven occasions. In the first three seasons after the most recent realignment in 2013, Central Division teams occupied both Wild Card playoff spots in the Western Conference. This occurred again in the 2018–19 season, for the fourth time in six seasons.

Current standings

Central Division
Pos Team GP W L OTL RW GF GA GD Pts
1 St. Louis Blues 71 42 19 10 33 225 193 +32 94
2 Colorado Avalanche 70 42 20 8 37 237 191 +46 92
3 Dallas Stars 69 37 24 8 26 180 177 +3 82
4 Winnipeg Jets 71 37 28 6 30 216 203 +13 80
5 Nashville Predators 69 35 26 8 28 215 217 2 78
6 Minnesota Wild 69 35 27 7 30 220 220 0 77
7 Chicago Blackhawks 70 32 30 8 23 212 218 6 72
Source: National Hockey League[2]

Division lineups

1993–1996

Changes from the 1992–93 season

  • The Central Division is formed as the result of NHL realignment
  • The Minnesota North Stars move to Dallas, Texas, and become the Dallas Stars
  • The Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs come from the Norris Division
  • The Winnipeg Jets come from the Smythe Division

1996–1998

  • Chicago Blackhawks
  • Dallas Stars
  • Detroit Red Wings
  • Phoenix Coyotes
  • St. Louis Blues
  • Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 1995–96 season

  • The Winnipeg Jets move to Phoenix, Arizona, to become the Phoenix Coyotes

1998–2000

Changes from the 1997–98 season

  • The Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes move to the Pacific Division
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs move to the Northeast Division
  • The Nashville Predators are added as an expansion team

2000–2013

Changes from the 1999–2000 season

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets are added as an expansion team

2013–present

Changes from the 2012–13 season

Division champions

Season results

Season1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th
1993–94Detroit (100)Toronto (98)Dallas (97)St. Louis (91)Chicago (87)Winnipeg (57)
1994–95Detroit (70)St. Louis (61)Chicago (53)Toronto (50)Dallas (42)Winnipeg (39)
1995–96Detroit (131)Chicago (94)Toronto (80)St. Louis (80)Winnipeg (78)Dallas (66)
1996–97Dallas (104)Detroit (94)Phoenix (83)St. Louis (83)Chicago (81)Toronto (68)
1997–98Dallas (109)Detroit (103)St. Louis (98)Phoenix (82)Chicago (73)Toronto (69)
1998–99Detroit (93)St. Louis (87)Chicago (70)Nashville (63)
1999–2000St. Louis (114)Detroit (108)Chicago (78)Nashville (70)
2000–01Detroit (111)St. Louis (103)Nashville (80)Chicago (71)Columbus (71)
2001–02Detroit (116)‡†St. Louis (98)Chicago (96)Nashville (69)Columbus (57)
2002–03Detroit (110)St. Louis (99)Chicago (79)Nashville (74)Columbus (69)
2003–04Detroit (109)St. Louis (91)Nashville (91)Columbus (62)Chicago (59)
2004–05No season due to 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06Detroit (124)Nashville (106)Columbus (74)Chicago (65)St. Louis (57)
2006–07Detroit (113)Nashville (110)St. Louis (81)Columbus (73)Chicago (71)
2007–08Detroit (115)‡†Nashville (91)Chicago (88)Columbus (80)St. Louis (79)
2008–09Detroit (112)Chicago (104)St. Louis (92)Columbus (92)Nashville (88)
2009–10Chicago (112)Detroit (102)Nashville (100)St. Louis (90)Columbus (79)
2010–11Detroit (104)Nashville (99)Chicago (97)St. Louis (87)Columbus (81)
2011–12St. Louis (109)Nashville (104)Detroit (102)Chicago (101)Columbus (65)
2012–13Chicago (77)‡†St. Louis (60)Detroit (56)Columbus (55)Nashville (41)
2013–14Colorado (112)St. Louis (111)Chicago (107)Minnesota (98)Dallas (91)Nashville (88)Winnipeg (84)
2014–15St. Louis (109)Nashville (104)Chicago (102)Minnesota (100)Winnipeg (99)Dallas (92)Colorado (90)
2015–16Dallas (109)St. Louis (107)Chicago (103)Nashville (96)Minnesota (87)Colorado (82)Winnipeg (78)
2016–17Chicago (109)Minnesota (106)St. Louis (99)Nashville (94)Winnipeg (87)Dallas (79)Colorado (48)
2017–18Nashville (117)Winnipeg (114)Minnesota (101)Colorado (95)St. Louis (94)Dallas (92)Chicago (76)
2018–19Nashville (100)Winnipeg (99)St. Louis (99)Dallas (93)Colorado (90)Chicago (84)Minnesota (83)
2019–20**St. Louis
(71 gp
94 pts.
.662 ppct.)

Colorado
(70 gp
92 pts.
.657 ppct.)

Dallas
(69 gp
82 pts.
.594 ppct.)

Nashville
(69 gp
78 pts.
.565 ppct.)

Winnipeg
(71 gp
80 pts.
.563 ppct.)

Minnesota
(69 gp
77 pts.
.558 ppct.)

Chicago
(70 gp
72 pts.
.514 ppct.)

Stanley Cup winners produced

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

Central Division titles won by team

Teams in bold are currently in the division.

TeamWinsLast win
Detroit Red Wings132011
St. Louis Blues42020
Chicago Blackhawks32017
Dallas Stars32016
Nashville Predators22019
Colorado Avalanche12014
Minnesota Wild0
Winnipeg Jets0
Columbus Blue Jackets0
Toronto Maple Leafs0
Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes0
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gollark: Also, consider optical illusions. In those you often just see things like, say, dots moving around or rotating, or lines looking like different lengths.
gollark: Well, your mirage one seems like a stretch, even.
gollark: That seems kind of too specific?
gollark: µhahahaha. I shall be so illusory.

References

  1. "Seattle NHL expansion approved by Board of Governors". December 4, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  2. "NHL Hockey Standings". www.nhl.com. National Hockey League.
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