Western Conference (NHL)

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Current logo of the Western Conference

The Western Conference is one of the two conferences in the highest North American ice hockey league , the National Hockey League (NHL). It contains a total of 15 of the 31 teams in the NHL and is further divided into two divisions : the Pacific Division and the Central Division .

history

The Western Conference has existed since the 1993/94 season under its current name, which was given to it in order to align the NHL with the geographical naming system of other US sports leagues (e.g. NBA ). The Western Conference is the successor to the Campbell Conference , which was founded in 1974/75 when the NHL became too big for two divisions after continuing expansion .

Until 1998 there were only two divisions and a division-based play-off mode in which the four best teams in a division played for the division win and then the two winners for the conference title. With further expansion of the NHL that was no longer possible. The Northwest Division was added in the 1998/99 season and another play-off mode was introduced, in which the three division winners are placed directly and the remaining five places were filled with the best-scoring teams from all divisions.

At the beginning of the 2013/14 season , the existing concept was changed again. With the addition of new teams such as the Minnesota Wild and the Columbus Blue Jackets and the move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg , the new geographical distribution made a reorganization necessary. For this purpose, the Northwest Division was dissolved; in addition, the Detroit Red Wings and Columbus Blue Jackets switched to the Eastern Conference , while the Winnipeg Jets switched in the other direction. This resulted in 14 teams in the Western Conference, each of which was divided into seven teams between the two remaining divisions ( Pacific and Central ).

With this restructuring, the allocation of play-off places also changed. In the now two divisions, the first three teams are directly qualified for the play-offs after the end of the regular season, while the remaining two places are filled with the best points from both divisions. This also makes it possible for one division to have five teams for the play-offs and the other only three.

2017/18 the Pacific Division of the Western Conference was to the expansion team of Vegas Golden Knights extended. The Seattle Kraken will follow in the 2021/22 season , with the Arizona Coyotes moving to the Central Division.

Teams

NHL outline map
Pacific Division

(right in the map in red )

Central Division

(on the right in the map in orange )

  + Seattle Kraken (from 2021/22)  → Arizona (from 2021/22)

winner

Western Conference logo from 1993 to 1997
Logo of the Western Conference from 1997 to 2006
year Regular season Playoffs
1993/94 Detroit Red Wings Vancouver Canucks
1994/95 Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings
1995/96 Detroit Red Wings Colorado Avalanche
1996/97 Colorado Avalanche Detroit Red Wings
1997/98 Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings
1998/99 Dallas Stars Dallas Stars
1999/00 St. Louis Blues Dallas Stars
2000/01 Colorado Avalanche Colorado Avalanche
2001/02 Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings
2002/03 Dallas Stars Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
2003/04 Detroit Red Wings Calgary Flames
2004/05 Lockout
2005/06 Detroit Red Wings Edmonton Oilers
2006/07 Detroit Red Wings Anaheim Ducks
2007/08 Detroit Red Wings Detroit Red Wings
2008/09 San Jose Sharks Detroit Red Wings
2009/10 San Jose Sharks Chicago Blackhawks
2010/11 Vancouver Canucks Vancouver Canucks
2011/12 Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings
2012/13 Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Blackhawks
2013/14 Colorado Avalanche Los Angeles Kings
2014/15 St. Louis Blues Chicago Blackhawks
2015/16 Dallas Stars San Jose Sharks
2016/17 Chicago Blackhawks Nashville Predators
2017/18 Nashville Predators Vegas Golden Knights
2018/19 Calgary Flames St. Louis Blues
2019/20 St. Louis Blues

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