West Division (NHL)

The West Division of the National Hockey League existed from 1967, when the NHL was made up of a single division, until 1974 when the league realigned its format into two conferences of two divisions each.

In 1967 the NHL doubled in size, going from six teams to twelve. The Original Six, as the pre-1967 teams were known, were grouped into the East Division, while the expansion teams were placed into the new West Division. This was done in order to keep teams of similar strength in the same division, regardless of geographic distance.

When the NHL expanded again in 1970, the two new teams, the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, were placed into the stronger East Division. To create a more balanced alignment, the Chicago Black Hawks were transferred into the West Division. The NHL expanded again in 1972; each division was given one of the expansion clubs, with the New York Islanders joining the East Division.

By 1974, another two teams entered the league, and the league underwent a major overhaul. The East and West Divisions were renamed the Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences, respectively, composed of nine teams each. The conferences were further divided into two divisions: the Norris and Adams Divisions for the Wales Conference; the Patrick and Smythe Divisions for the Campbell Conference. Because the Conferences were not composed based on geography, the league opted to name the conferences and divisions after historical figures associated with the NHL.

Composition of the West Division

• Philadelphia Flyers (1967–74)
• Los Angeles Kings (1967–74)
• St. Louis Blues (1967–74)
• Minnesota North Stars (1967–74)
• Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–74)
• California Seals (1967), Oakland Seals (1967–70), California Golden Seals (1970–74)
• Chicago Black Hawks (1970–74)
• Atlanta Flames (1972–74)

Final Standings, 1968–74

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold

1967–68

1967–68	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Philadelphia Flyers	74	31	32	11	73	173	179	987
Los Angeles Kings	74	31	33	10	72	200	224	810
St. Louis Blues	74	27	31	16	70	177	191	792
Minnesota North Stars	74	27	32	15	69	191	226	738
Pittsburgh Penguins	74	27	34	13	67	195	216	554
Oakland Seals	74	15	42	17	47	153	219	787

1968–69

1968–69	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
St. Louis Blues	76	37	25	14	88	204	157	838
Oakland Seals	76	29	36	11	69	219	251	811
Philadelphia Flyers	76	20	35	21	61	174	225	964
Los Angeles Kings	76	24	42	10	58	185	260	698
Pittsburgh Penguins	76	20	45	11	51	189	252	677
Minnesota North Stars	76	18	43	15	51	189	270	862

1969–70

1969–70	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
St. Louis Blues	76	37	27	12	86	224	179	876
Pittsburgh Penguins	76	26	38	12	64	182	238	1038
Minnesota North Stars	76	19	35	22	60	224	257	1008
Oakland Seals	76	22	40	14	58	169	243	845
Philadelphia Flyers	76	17	35	24	58	197	225	1123
Los Angeles Kings	76	14	52	10	38	168	290	969

1970–71

1970–71 NHL season	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	78	49	20	9	107	277	184	1280
St. Louis Blues	78	34	25	19	87	223	208	1092
Philadelphia Flyers	78	28	33	17	73	207	225	1060
Minnesota North Stars	78	28	34	16	72	191	223	898
Los Angeles Kings	78	25	40	13	63	239	303	775
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	21	37	20	62	221	240	1079
California Golden Seals	78	20	53	5	45	199	320	937

1971–72

1971–72	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	78	46	17	15	107	256	166	844
Minnesota North Stars	78	37	29	12	86	212	191	853
St. Louis Blues	78	28	39	11	67	208	247	1150
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	26	38	14	66	220	258	978
Philadelphia Flyers	78	26	38	14	66	200	236	1233
California Golden Seals	78	21	39	18	60	216	288	1007
Los Angeles Kings	78	20	49	9	49	206	305	719

1972–73

1972–73	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Chicago Black Hawks	78	42	27	9	93	284	225	864
Philadelphia Flyers	78	37	30	11	85	296	256	1756
Minnesota North Stars	78	37	30	11	85	254	230	881
St. Louis Blues	78	32	34	12	76	233	251	1195
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	32	37	9	73	257	265	866
Los Angeles Kings	78	31	36	11	73	232	245	888
Atlanta Flames	78	25	38	15	65	191	239	852
California Golden Seals	78	16	46	16	48	213	323	840

1973–74

1973–74	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Philadelphia Flyers	78	50	16	12	112	273	164	1750
Chicago Black Hawks	78	41	14	23	105	272	164	877
Los Angeles Kings	78	33	33	12	78	233	231	1055
Atlanta Flames	78	30	34	14	74	214	238	841
Pittsburgh Penguins	78	28	41	9	65	242	273	950
St. Louis Blues	78	26	40	12	64	206	248	1147
Minnesota North Stars	78	23	38	17	63	235	275	821
California Golden Seals	78	13	55	10	36	195	342	651

West Division Champions

For a list of the division champions, see Clarence Campbell Trophy.

Stanley Cup champions produced

• 1973–74 - Philadelphia Flyers