Smythe Division Explained

Smythe Division
Conference:	Clarence Campbell Conference
League:	National Hockey League
Sport:	Ice hockey
Founded:	1974
Folded:	1993
Replaced:	Pacific Division
Most Champs:	Edmonton Oilers (6)

The National Hockey League's Smythe Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Conn Smythe, who was a longtime owner, general manager, and head coach in the league. It is the forerunner of the NHL's Northwest Division and Pacific Division.

Division lineups

1974–1976

• Chicago Black Hawks
• Kansas City Scouts
• Minnesota North Stars
• St. Louis Blues
• Vancouver Canucks

Changes from the 1973–74 season

• The Smythe Division is formed as a result of NHL realignment
• The Vancouver Canucks come from the East Division
• The Chicago Black Hawks, Minnesota North Stars, and St. Louis Blues come from the West Division
• The Kansas City Scouts are added as an expansion team

1976–1978

• Chicago Black Hawks
• Colorado Rockies
• Minnesota North Stars
• St. Louis Blues
• Vancouver Canucks

Changes from the 1975–76 season

• The Kansas City Scouts move to Denver, Colorado, to become the Colorado Rockies

1978–1979

• Chicago Black Hawks
• Colorado Rockies
• St. Louis Blues
• Vancouver Canucks

Changes from the 1977–78 season

• The Minnesota North Stars merge with the Cleveland Barons. The new franchise continues as the Minnesota North Stars but assumes the Barons' place in the Adams Division

1979–1981

• Chicago Black Hawks
• Colorado Rockies
• Edmonton Oilers
• St. Louis Blues
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets

Changes from the 1978–79 season

• The Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets are granted entry into the NHL from the World Hockey Association (WHA)

1981–1982

• Calgary Flames
• Colorado Rockies
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• Vancouver Canucks

Changes from the 1980–81 season

• The Chicago Black Hawks, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets move to the Norris Division
• The Calgary Flames come from the Patrick Division
• The Los Angeles Kings come from the Norris Division

1982–1991

• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets

Changes from the 1981–82 season

• The Colorado Rockies move to the Patrick Division as the New Jersey Devils
• The Winnipeg Jets come from the Norris Division

1991–1993

• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Vancouver Canucks
• Winnipeg Jets

Changes from the 1990–91 season

• The San Jose Sharks are added as an expansion team

After the 1992–93 season

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

• Eastern Conference
  • Atlantic Division
  • Northeast Division
• Western Conference
  • Central Division
  • Pacific Division

Regular season Division champions

• 1975 – Vancouver Canucks (38–32–10, 86 pts)
• 1976 – Chicago Black Hawks (32–30–18, 82 pts)
• 1977 – St. Louis Blues (32–39–9, 73 pts)
• 1978 – Chicago Black Hawks (32–29–19, 83 pts)
• 1979 – Chicago Black Hawks (29–36–15, 73 pts)
• 1980 – Chicago Black Hawks (34–27–19, 87 pts)
• 1981 – St. Louis Blues (45–18–17, 107 pts)
• 1982 – Edmonton Oilers (48–17–15, 111 pts)
• 1983 – Edmonton Oilers (47–21–12, 106 pts)
• 1984 – Edmonton Oilers (57–18–5, 119 pts)
• 1985 – Edmonton Oilers (49–20–11, 109 pts)
• 1986 – Edmonton Oilers (56–17–7, 119 pts)
• 1987 – Edmonton Oilers (50–24–6, 106 pts)
• 1988 – Calgary Flames (48–23–9, 105 pts)
• 1989 – Calgary Flames (54–17–9, 117 pts)
• 1990 – Calgary Flames (42–23–15, 99 pts)
• 1991 – Los Angeles Kings (46–24–10, 102 pts)
• 1992 – Vancouver Canucks (42–26–12, 96 pts)
• 1993 – Vancouver Canucks (46–29–9, 101 pts)

Season results

bgcolor=#FFCC00 align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that won the Stanley Cup
bgcolor=#C0C0C0 align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, but lost Stanley Cup Finals
bgcolor=#BBFFBB align=center width=10px	^(#)	Denotes team that qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs
align=center width=10px	‡	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) Vancouver (86)	^(6) St. Louis (84)	^(7) Chicago (82)	Minnesota (53)	Kansas City (41)
1975–76	^(DC) Chicago (82)	^(7) Vancouver (81)	^(8) St. Louis (72)	Minnesota (47)	Kansas City (36)
1976–77	^(DC) St. Louis (73)	^(7) Minnesota (64)	^(8) Chicago (63)	Vancouver (63)	Colorado (54)
1977–78	^(DC) Chicago (83)	^(8) Colorado (59)	Vancouver (57)	St. Louis (53)	Minnesota (45)
1978–79	^(DC) Chicago (73)	^(8) Vancouver (63)	St. Louis (48)	Colorado (42)
1979–80	^(7) Chicago (87)	^(10) St. Louis (80)	^(15) Vancouver (70)	^(16) Edmonton (69)	Winnipeg (51)	Colorado (51)
1980–81	^(2) St. Louis (107)	^(10) Chicago (78)	^(12) Vancouver (76)	^(14) Edmonton (74)	Colorado (57)	Winnipeg (32)
1981–82	Edmonton (111)	Vancouver (77)	Calgary (75)	Los Angeles (63)	Colorado (49)
1982–83	Edmonton (106)	Calgary (78)	Vancouver (75)	Winnipeg (74)	Los Angeles (66)
1983–84	Edmonton (119)^‡	Calgary (82)	Vancouver (73)	Winnipeg (73)	Los Angeles (59)
1984–85	Edmonton (109)	Winnipeg (96)	Calgary (94)	Los Angeles (82)	Vancouver (59)
	Edmonton (119)^‡	Calgary (89)	Winnipeg (59)	Vancouver (59)	Los Angeles (54)
1986–87	Edmonton (106)^‡	Calgary (95)	Winnipeg (88)	Los Angeles (70)	Vancouver (66)
1987–88	Calgary (105)^‡	Edmonton (99)	Winnipeg (77)	Los Angeles (68)	Vancouver (59)
1988–89	Calgary (117)^‡	Los Angeles (91)	Edmonton (84)	Vancouver (74)	Winnipeg (64)
1989–90	Calgary (99)	Edmonton (90)	Winnipeg (85)	Los Angeles (75)	Vancouver (64)
1990–91	Los Angeles (102)	Calgary (100)	Edmonton (80)	Vancouver (65)	Winnipeg (63)
1991–92	Vancouver (96)	Los Angeles (84)	Edmonton (82)	Winnipeg (81)	Calgary (74)	San Jose (39)
1992–93	Vancouver (101)	Calgary (97)	Los Angeles (88)	Winnipeg (87)	Edmonton (60)	San Jose (24)

Playoff Division champions

• 1982 – Vancouver Canucks
• 1983 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1984 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1985 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1986 – Calgary Flames
• 1987 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1988 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1989 – Calgary Flames
• 1990 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1991 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1992 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1993 – Los Angeles Kings

Stanley Cup winners produced

• 1984 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1985 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1987 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1988 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1989 – Calgary Flames
• 1990 – Edmonton Oilers

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

• 1986 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1987 – Edmonton Oilers
• 1988 – Calgary Flames
• 1989 – Calgary Flames

Smythe Division titles won by team

Team	Wins	Last win
	6	1987
	4	1980
	3	1993
	3	1990
	2	1981
	1	1991
	0	—
	0	—
	0	—
	0	—

References

• NHL History