The National Hockey League’s Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. When the NHL realigned into geographic divisions in 1981, the division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference, where it comprised the league’s Great Lakes and Midwest teams, with the Detroit Red Wings being the only member to remain from the previous season. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. The division was named in honor of James E. Norris, 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-heavy squads that had poor performances – qualifying for the playoffs with .500 points percentages, and achieving no Stanley Cup titles or appearances in the finals – but great local popularity. Despite the division’s reputation, the 1985–86 St. Louis Blues made an impressive cinderella run by reaching the Conference Finals where it took the Calgary Flames 7 games to dispatch them following The Monday Night Miracle, and the 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals.
As part of his shtick, ESPN’s Chris Berman often refers to the National Football League’s NFC North 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, Detroit, and Minneapolis–St. Paul. The Tampa Bay Area was also briefly represented in both divisions simultaneously, during the 1992–93 NHL season.
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 Division
The Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins come from the West Division
The Washington Capitals are added as an expansion team
1979–1981
Detroit Red Wings
Hartford Whalers
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 (WHA)
The Washington Capitals move to the Patrick Division
1981–1982
Chicago Black Hawks
Detroit Red Wings
Minnesota North Stars
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
Winnipeg Jets
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 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
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
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
