The National Hockey League (NHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Championship series of the NHL. The Conference Finals are best-of-seven series. The two series are played in late May each year after the first and second rounds of the playoffs and before the Finals. The final two teams in the Eastern conference and Western Conference face off. The series are the conference equivalents of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Before the 1967-68 season, the NHL was only made up of a single division. From the 1967-68 season through the 1973-74 season, the NHL was made up of two divisions (as opposed to conferences), an East Division and a West Division.
Following the 1973-74 season, the NHL again realigned. The East and West Divisions were renamed the Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences, respectively. This was because at the time, since the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed.
Beginning in the 1981-82 season, the Conferences & the playoffs were realigned.
Beginning in the 1993-94 season, the names of conferences and divisions were changed to reflect the their geographic locations. Then-new NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made the change to help non-hockey fans better understand the game, as the National Basketball Association, National Football League, and Major League Baseball all use geographic-based names for their conferences and divisions. Therefore, the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference and the Wales Conference became the Eastern Conference.
The respective winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.
Four teams, the Phoenix Coyotes, the Nashville Predators, the Atlanta Thrashers and the Columbus Blue Jackets are the only teams to never appear in a Conference Final. All four of these teams have appeared in the Conference Quarter-finals.
- For more details on this topic, see Season_structure_of_the_NHL#Stanley_Cup_playoffs.
Prince of Wales Conference/Eastern Conference[]
Prince of Wales Conference (1982-1993)[]
| Season | Champion | Runner-Up | Games | Eventual Cup Winner |
| 1981-82 | New York Islanders | Quebec Nordiques | 4 | |
| 1982-83 | New York Islanders | Boston Bruins | 6 | |
| 1983-84 | New York Islanders | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | |
| 1984-85 | Philadelphia Flyers | Quebec Nordiques | 6 | |
| 1985-86 | Montreal Canadiens | New York Rangers | 5 | |
| 1986-87 | Philadelphia Flyers | Montreal Canadiens | 6 | |
| 1987-88 | Boston Bruins | New Jersey Devils | 7 | |
| 1988-89 | Montreal Canadiens | Philadelphia Flyers | 6 | |
| 1989-90 | Boston Bruins | Washington Capitals | 4 | |
| 1990-91 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Boston Bruins | 6 | |
| 1991-92 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Boston Bruins | 4 | |
| 1992-93 | Montreal Canadiens | New York Islanders | 5 |
Eastern Conference (1994-present)[]
Clarence Campbell Conference/Western Conference[]
Clarence Campbell Conference (1982-1993)[]
| Season | West Champion | West Runner-Up | Games | Eventual Cup Winner |
| 1981-82 | Vancouver Canucks | Chicago Black Hawks | 5 | |
| 1982-83 | Edmonton Oilers | Chicago Black Hawks | 4 | |
| 1983-84 | Edmonton Oilers | Minnesota North Stars | 4 | |
| 1984-85 | Edmonton Oilers | Chicago Black Hawks | 6 | |
| 1985-86 | Calgary Flames | St. Louis Blues | 7 | |
| 1986-87 | Edmonton Oilers | Detroit Red Wings | 5 | |
| 1987-88 | Edmonton Oilers | Detroit Red Wings | 5 | |
| 1988-89 | Calgary Flames | Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | |
| 1989-90 | Edmonton Oilers | Chicago Blackhawks | 6 | |
| 1990-91 | Minnesota North Stars | Edmonton Oilers | 5 | |
| 1991-92 | Chicago Blackhawks | Edmonton Oilers | 4 | |
| 1992-93 | Los Angeles Kings | Toronto Maple Leafs | 7 |
Western Conference (1994-present)[]
| Season | West Champion | West Runner-Up | Games | Eventual Cup Winner |
| 1993-94 | Vancouver Canucks | Toronto Maple Leafs | 5 | |
| 1994-95 | Detroit Red Wings | Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | |
| 1995-96 | Colorado Avalanche | Detroit Red Wings | 6 | |
| 1996-97 | Detroit Red Wings | Colorado Avalanche | 6 | |
| 1997-98 | Detroit Red Wings | Dallas Stars | 6 | |
| 1998-99 | Dallas Stars | Colorado Avalanche | 7 | |
| 1999-2000 | Dallas Stars | Colorado Avalanche | 7 | |
| 2000-01 | Colorado Avalanche | St. Louis Blues | 5 | |
| 2001-02 | Detroit Red Wings | Colorado Avalanche | 7 | |
| 2002-03 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | Minnesota Wild | 4 | |
| 2003-04 | Calgary Flames | San Jose Sharks | 6 | |
| 2004-05 | No Conference Finals played due to a lockout. | |||
| 2005-06 | Edmonton Oilers | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 5 | |
| 2006-07 | Anaheim Ducks | Detroit Red Wings | 6 | |
| 2007-08 | Detroit Red Wings | Dallas Stars | 6 | |
| 2008-09 | Detroit Red Wings | Chicago Blackhawks | 5 | |
Team totals[]
Legend: CF = Conference Finals; SCF = Stanley Cup Finals
| Team | CF Appearances | CF Wins | % | Cup Wins | % | Consecutive CF | Consecutive SCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 8 | 2 | 25% | 0 | 0% | - | - |
| Boston Bruins | 5 | 2 | 40% | 0 | 0% | - | - |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 8 | 1 | 12.5% | 0 | 0% | 2 | - |
| Montreal Canadiens | 5 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| New York Islanders | 4 | 3 | 75% | 3 | |||
| Detroit Red Wings | 10 | 4 | 40% | 2 (3) | |||
| Edmonton Oilers | 9 | 7 | 3 | ||||
| New York Rangers | 3 | 1 | 33.3% | - | |||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 6 | 4 | 66.6% | 2 (2) | |||
| St. Louis Blues | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | ||||
| Colorado Avalanche | 6 | 2 | 33.3% | 2 | - | ||
| New Jersey Devils | 6 | 4 | 66.6% | 2 (2) | |||
| Minnesota North Stars | 2 | 1 | 50% | - | - | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | 4 | 1 | 25% | 2 | - | ||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 4 | 0 | 0.00% | 2 | - | ||
| Calgary Flames | 2 | 2 | 100% | - | - | ||
| Dallas Stars | 4 | 2 | 50% | 3 | |||
| Anaheim Ducks | 3 | 2 | 66.6% | 2 | - | ||
| Carolina Hurricanes | 3 | 2 | 66.6% | 1 | - | - | |
| Washington Capitals | 2 | 1 | 50% | - | - | ||
| Los Angeles Kings | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | ||
| Ottawa Senators | 2 | 1 | 50% | - | - | ||
| Quebec Nordiques | 2 | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | ||
| Vancouver Canucks | 2 | 2 | 100% | - | - | ||
| Florida Panthers | 1 | 1 | 100% | - | - | ||
| San Jose Sharks | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | - | - | ||
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 1 | 1 | 100% | - | - | ||
| Minnesota Wild | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | - | - |
References[]
External links[]
| National Hockey League | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Structure | Playoffs (Streaks • Droughts • All-time playoff series) • Conference Finals • Finals |
|---|---|
| Annual events | Seasons • Stanley Cup (Champions • Winning players • Traditions and anecdotes) • Presidents' Trophy • All-Star Game • Draft • Awards • All-Star Teams |
| Players | List of players • Association • Retired jersey numbers • Captains |
| History | Lore • Organizational changes :: • Defunct teams • NHA • Original Six • 1967 Expansion • WHA Merger • Lockouts |
| Others | Outdoor games (Winter Classic • Heritage Classic • Stadium Series) • Potential expansion • Hall of Fame (Members) • Rivalries • Arenas • Rules • Fighting • Violence : International games • Kraft Hockeyville • Collective bargaining agreement • Television and radio coverage |
| Category • 2022–23 Season • 2023–24 Season • 2024–25 Season | |
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