The

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

has used the name Atlantic Division for two distinct groups of teams. The original Atlantic Division, the predecessor of which was the Patrick Division, was formed in 1993 as part of the Eastern Conference in a league realignment. As part of a 2013 realignment, the entirety of the former Atlantic Division was realigned into the Metropolitan Division. The Atlantic Division name was assigned to a new division comprising the entirety of the former Northeast Division plus the Florida Panthers and the

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 ...

(coincidentally, both were members of the original Atlantic Division until 1998) from the now-dissolved Southeast Division, and 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 in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

, who moved from the Central Division of the Western Conference. This division features a number of classic and modern NHL rivalries, including Bruins–Canadiens, Canadiens–Maple Leafs, Maple Leafs–Red Wings, Maple Leafs–Senators, and Lightning–Panthers. Games between the division's three Canadian teams, plus the Bruins and Red Wings, are frequently featured on ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

'' as its main attraction.

Division lineups

1993–1998

* Florida Panthers * New Jersey Devils * New York Islanders *

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...

* Washington Capitals

Changes from the 1992–93 season

* The Atlantic Division is formed as a result of NHL realignment * The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals come from the Patrick Division * The Tampa Bay Lightning come from the Norris Division * The Florida Panthers are added as an expansion team

1998–2013

* New Jersey Devils * New York Islanders * New York Rangers * Philadelphia Flyers *

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 ...

Changes from the 1997–98 season

* The Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals move to the Southeast Division * The Pittsburgh Penguins come from the Northeast Division

2013–2020

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, alon ...

* Florida Panthers *

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 ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

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 ...

Changes from the 2012–13 season

* The Northeast and Southeast Divisions are dissolved due to NHL realignment * The New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins move to the Metropolitan Division * The Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Toronto Maple Leafs come from the Northeast Division * The Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning come from the Southeast Division * The Detroit Red Wings come from the Central Division

2020–2021

* Division not used for the 2020–21 NHL season

Changes from the 2019–20 season

* Due to COVID-19 restrictions the NHL realigned into four divisions with no conferences for the 2020–21 season * The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres move to the East Division * The Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning move to the Central Division * The Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs move to the North Division

2021–present

* Boston Bruins * Buffalo Sabres * Detroit Red Wings * Florida Panthers * Montreal Canadiens * Ottawa Senators * Tampa Bay Lightning * Toronto Maple Leafs

Changes from the 2020–21 season

* The league returned to using a four division and two conference alignment * The Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres come from the East Division * The Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning come from the Central Division * The Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs come from the North Division

Division champions

* 1994 –

(52–24–8, 112 pts) * 1995 –

(28–16–4, 60 pts) * 1996 –

(45–24–13, 103 pts) * 1997 – New Jersey Devils (45–23–14, 104 pts) * 1998 – New Jersey Devils (48–23–11, 107 pts) * 1999 – New Jersey Devils (47–24–11, 105 pts) * 2000 –

(45–22–12–3, 105 pts) * 2001 – New Jersey Devils (48–19–12–3, 111 pts) * 2002 –

(42–27–10–3, 97 pts) * 2003 – New Jersey Devils (46–20–10–6, 108 pts) * 2004 –

(40–21–15–6, 101 pts) * 2005 – no season (

NHL Lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

) * 2006 – New Jersey Devils (46–27–9, 101 pts) * 2007 – New Jersey Devils (49–24–9, 107 pts) * 2008 –

(47–27–8, 102 pts) * 2009 – New Jersey Devils (51–27–4, 106 pts) * 2010 – New Jersey Devils (48–27–7, 103 pts) * 2011 –

(47–23–12, 106 pts) * 2012 –

(51–24–7, 109 pts) * 2013 –

(36–12–0, 72 pts) * 2014 –

(54–19–9, 117 pts) * 2015 –

(50–22–10, 110 pts) * 2016 – Florida Panthers (47–26–9, 103 pts) * 2017 –

(47–26–9, 103 pts) * 2018 –

(54–23–5, 113 pts) * 2019 –

(62–16–4, 128 pts) * 2020 –

(44–14–12, 100 pts) * 2021 – Division suspended for season * 2022 – Florida Panthers (58–18–6, 122 pts)

Season results

;Notes * The 1994–95 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout. * The 2012–13 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout. * The 2019–20 NHL season was cut short due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Due to the imbalance in the number of games played among teams, the regular season standings were determined by points percentage.

Stanley Cup winners produced

* 1994 –

* 1995 – New Jersey Devils * 2000 – New Jersey Devils * 2003 – New Jersey Devils * 2009 –

* 2020 –

Presidents' Trophy winners produced

* 1994 –

* 2014 –

* 2019 –

* 2020 –

* 2022 – Florida Panthers

Atlantic Division titles won by team

''Teams in bold are currently in the division.''

References

NHL History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlantic Division (Nhl) Atlantic Division (NHL) National Hockey League divisions Boston Bruins Buffalo Sabres Detroit Red Wings Florida Panthers Montreal Canadiens Ottawa Senators Tampa Bay Lightning Toronto Maple Leafs