The

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the

Prince of Wales Conference A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

. When the NHL realigned into geographic divisions in 1981, the division moved to the

Clarence Campbell Conference Clarence may refer to: Places Australia * Clarence County, New South Wales, a Cadastral division * Clarence, New South Wales, a place near Lithgow * Clarence River (New South Wales) * Clarence Strait (Northern Territory) * City of Clarence, a lo ...

, where it comprised the league's

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

teams, with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

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 James E. Norris (December 10, 1879 – December 4, 1952) was a Canadian-American businessman, operating companies in the grain and cattle industries, and owner of the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League. He also had significant owne ...

, 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 Enforcer or enforcers may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Comics * Enforcer (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Enforcers (comics), a Marvel Comics team * New Enforcers, another Marvel Comics team Film and television * ''The Enforcer ...

-heavy squads that had poor performances – qualifying for the playoffs with .500 points percentages, and achieving no

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

titles or appearances in the finals – but great local popularity.The Norris Division Has Gone Respectable
The Hockey News Despite the division's reputation, the 1985–86

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

made an impressive cinderella run by reaching the Conference Finals where it took the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

7 games to dispatch them following The Monday Night Miracle, and the 1990–91

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

reached the

finals. As part of his

shtick A shtick ( yi, שטיק) is a comic theme or gimmick. The word entered the English language from the Yiddish ''shtik'' (שטיק), in turn derived from German ''Stück'' and Polish ''sztuka'' (both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *''stukkiją'') ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Count ...

often refers to the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

NFC North The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...

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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and Minneapolis–St. Paul. The

Tampa Bay Area The Tampa Bay area is a major populated area surrounding Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida in the United States. It includes the main cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. It is the 18th largest metropolitan area in the United St ...

was also briefly represented in both divisions simultaneously, during the 1992–93 NHL season. Fans also referred to it as the "

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...

Division" due to its often violent reputation and play-style.

Division lineups

1974–1979

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

Changes from the 1973–74 season

* The Norris Division is formed as a result of NHL realignment * The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens come from the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

Division * The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins come from the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

Division * The Washington Capitals are added as an expansion team

1979–1981

* Detroit Red Wings *

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

* Los Angeles Kings * Montreal Canadiens * Pittsburgh Penguins

Changes from the 1978–79 season

* The Hartford Whalers are granted entry into the NHL from the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) * The Washington Capitals move to the

Patrick Division The Patrick Division is a former division of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was formed in 1974 as part of the Clarence Campbell Conference. The division moved to the Prince of Wales Conference in 1981. The division existed for 19 seasons unt ...

1981–1982

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

* Detroit Red Wings *

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

Changes from the 1980–81 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 NHL's Adams Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Adams, the founder of the Boston Bruins. It is the forerunner of the ...

* 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 come from the Adams Division * The Chicago Black Hawks, St. Louis Blues, and Winnipeg Jets come from the

Smythe Division The NHL'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 leagu ...

1982–1986

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

Changes from the 1981–82 season

* The Winnipeg Jets move back to the Smythe Division

1986–1992

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

Changes from the 1985–86 season

* Chicago changes their team name from the Black Hawks to the Blackhawks

1992–1993

* Chicago Blackhawks * Detroit Red Wings * Minnesota North Stars * St. Louis Blues *

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

* Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 1991–92 season

* The Tampa Bay Lightning 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 –

(47–14–19, 113 pts) * 1976 –

(58–11–11, 127 pts) * 1977 –

(60–8–12, 132 pts) * 1978 –

(59–10–11, 129 pts) * 1979 –

(52–17–11, 115 pts) * 1980 –

(47–20–13, 107 pts) * 1981 –

(45–22–13, 103 pts) * 1982 –

(37–23–20, 94 pts) * 1983 –

(47–23–10, 104 pts) * 1984 –

(39–31–10, 88 pts) * 1985 –

(37–31–12, 86 pts) * 1986 –

(39–33–8, 86 pts) * 1987 –

(32–33–15, 79 pts) * 1988 –

(41–28–11, 93 pts) * 1989 –

(34–34–12, 80 pts) * 1990 –

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

(41–33–6, 88 pts) * 1991 –

(49–23–8, 106 pts) * 1992 –

(43–25–12, 98 pts) * 1993 –

(47–25–12, 106 pts)

Season results

Playoff Division champions

* 1982 –

* 1983 –

* 1984 –

* 1985 –

* 1986 –

* 1987 –

* 1988 –

* 1989 –

* 1990 –

* 1991 –

* 1992 –

* 1993 –

Stanley Cup winners produced

* 1976 –

* 1977 –

* 1978 –

* 1979 –

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

* 1991 –

Norris Division titles won by team

References

NHL History
{{NHL National Hockey League divisions