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 Named "California Seals" for the first month of the season, after which they were renamed "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==
===Stanley Cup champions produced===
*1973–74 - Philadelphia Flyers
==References==
Category:National Hockey League divisions
Category:Western Conference (NHL)