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St. Louis Blues: Exploring the Old Norris Division

For those of you that may be new to the NHL, the current conference and division set up has been around since 2013. As we know it today, the current alignment is: The Eastern – Atlantic & Metropolitan; Western - Central & Pacific. However, once upon a time the conferences were named for legendary hockey figures.

By Dave Hamilton

1993 NHL All Star Game - Campbell Conference v Wales Conference
1993 NHL All Star Game - Campbell Conference v Wales Conference / Focus On Sport/GettyImages
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Expansion Brought Realignment

Back in the 1974-75 season there were two additional teams that joined the NHL bringing the league total to 18. At 18 teams the league needed to realign, and the four-division structure was born. Like today, within each conference were two divisions. At that time the location of the team didn’t seem to matter since they were not named geographically.

What had been known as the East Division became the Prince of Wales Conference and had the Adams and Norris Divisions. The West Division would now be known as the Clarence Campbell Conference with the Patrick and Smythe Divisions.

Prince of Wales Conference - The Norris Division

The teams in the Norris Division in 1974 were a mixed bunch. Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and the first season Washington Capitals. James E Norris who had been the longtime owner of the Detroit Red Wings was who the division was named after.

Prince of Wales Conference – The Adams Division

An interesting mix of teams including the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs and the California Golden Seals (who later became the Cleveland Barons before going belly up in 1978). Charles Adams was the founder of the Boston Bruins.

The Clarence Campbell Conference - The Smythe Division

The Smythe Division was a bit of a mixed bag of teams. Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota North Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues and the first season Kansas City Scouts (who later became the Colorado Rockies and in 1982 became the New Jersey Devils). Conn Smythe was a Canadian businessman who had been the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs for many years.

The Clarence Campbell Conference – The Patrick Division

The Patrick Division included the New York Islanders, the Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and the Atlanta Flames (who relocated to Calgary in 1980). Lester Patrick was a long time player and coach of the New York Rangers.

St. Louis and the Norris Division: Rivalries Powered Up

The rivalries we love to hate today got their roots from 1981 to 1993. It wasn’t until the 1981 realignment of 21 teams that the NHL realized less travel was important to maintain costs in the league. The Norris moved to the Campbell Conference and the Patrick Division moved to the Wales Conference.

Along with the conference moves, the Norris became much more centrally aligned: Chicago, Detroit, Minnesota, Toronto, Winnipeg (moved to the Smythe in 1982) and St. Louis. For the bulk of the 12 years through 1993 the Blues clashed with their Norris Division rivals in epic battles that saw the era of Federko and Sutter and in 1988 landed the “Golden Brett.”  

Realignment 1993 Style to Today

In the 1993 season two new teams were added (26 total) and the conferences became Eastern and Western, with the divisions changed to Northeast, Atlantic, Central and Pacific. Several more lineup changes occur over the next 21 years to bring us to todays 32 team structure. Not to be outdone, 2024-2025 brings us the latest move of the Utah Hockey Club to the Central Division replacing the Arizona Coyotes.

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