Misplaced Pages

#409590

57-552: Originally named the Clarence Campbell Conference (or Campbell Conference for short), it was created in 1974 when the NHL realigned its teams into two conferences and four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography, geographical references were removed. The conferences and divisions were re-aligned in 1981 to better reflect the geographical locations of

114-449: A Canadian Amateur Hockey Association committee in 1935 to study the definition of an amateur hockey player and updates needed. Campbell worked as a referee in the NHL from 1933 until 1939 . He officiated some historic games, such as the game in 1937 when the great Howie Morenz 's career was ended when he broke his leg, an injury that eventually led to his death. Campbell even refereed

171-563: A Rogers Media -produced broadcast under a sub-license agreement, with it streaming on Rogers Media's digital platform, and a simulcast on Sportsnet starting in 2017 . French-language broadcasts in Canada also began in 1953, with play-by-play commentator Rene Lecavalier and colour commentator Jean-Maurice Bailly on CBC's Télévision de Radio-Canada (SRC) division. SRC continued to be the exclusive French-language broadcaster until 2003 when Réseau des sports (RDS) took over. Since 2015, under

228-511: A fine as a result. Campbell made a controversial call in 1939 when refereeing a game involving the Toronto Maple Leafs when defenceman Red Horner was struck with a stick and Campbell doled out only a minor penalty, even though Horner was bleeding. Leafs owner Conn Smythe called for Campbell not to be rehired, and the league agreed. League president Frank Calder decided to let Campbell work in his office after his career as

285-628: A referee, and it was becoming evident that the president was grooming a successor. But World War II broke out and Campbell enlisted in the Canadian Army . He rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1945. At the end of the war he served with the No. 1 Canadian War Graves Investigation Unit. After the war he was appointed Queen's Counsel, and

342-746: A result, two teams from the same conference could meet in the Stanley Cup Finals , as happened in 1977 , 1978 , and 1980 . Under this system, the Campbell Conference champion, and therefore the winner of the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl , was the team that finished with the best regular season record in the conference. Ever since the introduction of the Conference finals in 1982, the Campbell Bowl has been presented to

399-555: A rough playoff game between the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins in which Dit Clapper used his stick on a player. Angry at Clapper's actions, he called Clapper a profane name, which brought a powerful punch from the hardrock defenceman that knocked Campbell to the ice. Campbell, aware of his provocative action, then submitted a very lenient report on Clapper, and NHL president Frank Calder gave Clapper only

456-499: A sub-license agreement with Rogers, TVA has been the exclusive home of French-language broadcasts in Canada. The first television broadcast in the United States was in 1962 , covered by local Chicago station WGN , while network broadcasts started in 1966 on NBC . However, national coverage on American television, like the rest of the NHL season, remained in a state of flux for decades. From 1966 to 1975, NBC and CBS held

513-513: The de facto championship trophy of the NHL. In 1947, the NHL reached an agreement with trustees P. D. Ross and Cooper Smeaton to grant control of the cup to the NHL, allowing the league itself to reject challenges from other leagues that may have wished to play for the Cup. A 2006 Ontario Superior Court case found that the trustees had gone against Lord Stanley's conditions in the 1947 agreement. The NHL has agreed to allow other teams to play for

570-574: The 1955 regular season and for the entirety of the playoffs. This decision came about as a result of Richard's actions during a March 13 game between the Canadiens and Boston Bruins ; Richard had gotten into a vicious stick-swinging fight with the Bruins' Hal Laycoe , and when linesman Cliff Thompson restrained Richard, Laycoe punched Richard repeatedly. One of Richard's teammates knocked down Laycoe, allowing Richard to turn around and punch Thompson in

627-739: The COVID-19 pandemic forced a realignment of the League to preclude the need for teams to regularly cross the Canada–United States border . For 2020–21 the four Canadian teams competed in the newly formed North Division while the five remaining Pacific Division teams from the U.S., along with three American teams from the Central Division formed a re-constituted West Division. The other three remaining Central Division teams stayed in that Division and were joined by five American teams from

SECTION 10

#1732773381410

684-826: The Central and Pacific . Realignment in 1998 added a third division, the Northwest . The Northwest Division was dissolved in 2013. Its American teams and Winnipeg joined the Central, while the rest of the Canadian teams returned to the Pacific. With this 2013 realignment, the Central Division is based almost entirely in the Central Time Zone (the only exception being the Colorado Avalanche , who are in

741-602: The Mountain Time Zone ), and the Pacific Division is based entirely within the Mountain and Pacific Time Zones . On June 22, 2016, the NHL awarded Las Vegas an expansion team that began play in 2017, and thus brought the total of Western Conference teams to 15. The NHL awarded a franchise to the city of Seattle on December 4, 2018. The Seattle Kraken began playing in the 2021–22 season , increasing

798-738: The National Hockey League (NHL) during the 1930s, served in the Canadian Army during World War II , then served as the third president of the NHL from 1946 to 1977. His tenure as president included the Richard Riot and the 1967 NHL expansion . His career was recognized with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, and the naming of the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl for him. Born in Fleming, Assiniboia District, North-West Territories , Campbell attended high school at

855-576: The "most important championships available to the sport [of ice hockey]" according to the International Ice Hockey Federation . Originally inscribed the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup , the trophy was donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley of Preston , then– Governor General of Canada , initially as a " challenge trophy " for Canada's top-ranking amateur ice hockey club. The champions held onto

912-454: The 2013 realignment. Under the new postseason system that was first used during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs , the top three teams in each division make the playoffs, with 2 wild-cards in each conference (for a total of 8 playoff teams from each conference). Clarence Campbell Clarence Sutherland Campbell , OBE QC (July 9, 1905 – June 24, 1984) was a Canadian ice hockey executive, referee, and soldier. He refereed in

969-587: The Allan Cup became the highest prize for amateur hockey teams in Canada, the trustees had become dependent on the top two professional leagues to bolster the prominence of the trophy. After the Portland Rosebuds , an American-based team, joined the PCHA in 1914, the trustees issued a statement that the Cup was no longer for the best team in Canada, but now for the best team in the world. Two years later,

1026-696: The Campbell/Western Conference playoff champions. In the playoff system introduced in 1982, the top four teams in each division made the playoffs. The first-round winners met in the Division finals, and the division final winners met in the conference finals. In this format, the division standings tended to be very static. In the Norris Division, for example, the Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues never missed

1083-604: The Cup should the league not be operating, as was the case in the 2004–05 NHL lockout . The first television broadcast of the Stanley Cup Finals in Canada was in 1953 . English-language coverage was aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), with Danny Gallivan calling the play-by-play, Keith Dancy providing the colour commentary, and Wes McKnight hosted. The Hockey Night in Canada team of Gallivan and Dancy called

1140-540: The Cup until they either lost their league title to another club, or a champion from another league issued a formal challenge and defeated the reigning Cup champion in a final game to claim their win. Professional teams first became eligible to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1906. Starting in 1915, the Cup was officially held between the champion of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and

1197-547: The Cup, the trophy was then awarded to the winner of the NHL's championship playoff round. This first took place in 1927 between the Boston Bruins and the Ottawa Senators , which was planned to be a best-of-three series, although the series allowed ties. The series ended after four games, when the Senators defeated the Bruins in the fourth game. The NHL has changed its playoff format several times since 1927, and thus

SECTION 20

#1732773381410

1254-688: The Cup. At the same time, the NHA concluded a similar agreement with the Maritime Hockey League but the MHL champions abandoned their 1914 challenge and did not challenge again. From 1914 onwards, the Stanley Cup championship finals alternated between the East and the West each year, with alternating games played according to NHA and PCHA rules. The Cup trustees agreed to this new arrangement, because after

1311-817: The Eastern Conference. These changes have been reversed, for the 2021–22 season. The Campbell Conference originally consisted of the Patrick Division and the Smythe Division . The 1981 realignment moved the Patrick Division to the Prince of Wales Conference and added that conference's Norris Division instead. When the names of conferences and divisions were changed in 1993, the Western Conference's divisions became

1368-640: The Eastern champions have won 20 times. The Stanley Cup was first awarded to the Montreal Hockey Club in 1893 when the team won the 1893 AHAC season . The team then had to defend its champion-title both through league championships and challenge games organised by the Stanley Cup trustees. Until 1912, these challenges could take place before or during a league season. After 1912, the trustees ordered that challenges only take place after all league games were completed. The last challenge, in 1914,

1425-507: The NHL clubs decided to highlight the achievements of the league president by donating the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl in his honour. When the league realigned into two conferences and four divisions in 1974 , it further honoured Campbell by naming one of the two conferences after him, and awarding the Campbell Bowl to the conference's regular-season (later playoff) champion. Although the Clarence Campbell Conference

1482-747: The Rosebuds became the first American team to play in the Stanley Cup championship finals. In 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans became the first American team to win the Cup. After that season, the NHA dissolved, and the National Hockey League (NHL) took its place. In 1919 , the Spanish influenza epidemic forced the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans to cancel their series tied at 2–2–1, marking

1539-409: The Stanley Cup travel west, because they did not consider Victoria a proper challenger, as they had not verified themselves with the trustees. However, on March 18, trustee William Foran stated that it was a misunderstanding. PCHA president Lester Patrick, had not filed a challenge, because he had expected Emmett Quinn of the NHA to make all of the arrangements in his role as hockey commissioner, whereas

1596-728: The Strathcona Collegiate Institute, now known as Old Scona Academic , Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He graduated from the University of Alberta with a degree in law and arts in 1924 and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University , where he played for the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club . Campbell was an executive member of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association in the 1930s, and was part of

1653-654: The Western Conference to 16 teams and the Arizona Coyotes moved to the Central Division from the Pacific Division to balance out the conference. In 2024, the Coyotes suspended operations and a new team in Utah replaced them, absorbing all personnel previously under contract with the Coyotes. In the event the Coyotes build a new stadium suitable for NHL play by 2029, the Arizona Coyotes would essentially return to

1710-499: The Western Conference, creating a new 33-team NHL in the process. Conversely, should they fail to establish a new suitable arena for play by then, the 16 teams with Utah taking Arizona's place will stand as is and the Coyotes franchise will likely fold. The NHL's playoff system has changed over the years. Prior to 1982, the NHL had a unique playoff system compared to the NFL, NBA. and MLB. Playoff teams were seeded regardless of conference. As

1767-555: The champion of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). After a series of league mergers and folds, it became the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1926. Starting in 1982 , the championship round of the NHL's playoffs has been a best-of-seven series played between the champions of the Eastern and Western Conferences . Since then, Western champions have won 21 times, while

Western Conference (NHL) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-499: The championship reverted to a single series. After winning in the 1924–25 season, the Victoria Cougars became the last team outside the NHL to win the Stanley Cup. The WHL folded in 1926, and most of the players moved to the NHL. This left the NHL as the only league left competing for the Cup. Other leagues and clubs have issued challenges, but from that year forward, no non-NHL team has played for it, leading it to become

1881-661: The face. On March 17, Campbell attended a game at the Montreal Forum between the Canadiens and the Detroit Red Wings . Throughout the first period he was taunted and pelted with debris by outraged Montreal fans, who saw him as a prime example of the city's English-Canadian elite oppressing the French-Canadian majority. After a tear gas bomb was released in the arena, Campbell exited the building,

1938-408: The final round has not always pitted conference or division playoff champions against each other. In the playoff format used from 1929 to 1938, the two teams with identical division ranking would face each other (i.e. the first place teams played each other, the second place teams play each other, and likewise for the third place teams). The winner of the first place series would automatically advance to

1995-469: The final round. The winner of the second and third place series would then play each other, with the winner of that series earning the other berth to the championship round. During the Original Six era, the top four teams made the playoffs, with the first and third place teams battling in one semifinal series, while the second and fourth place teams battled in the other. And from 1975 to 1981 , all

2052-399: The first or second round rather than the conference finals. For instance, in 1985, Winnipeg finished with the fourth-best record in the entire league, only to be forced to meet fifth-best Calgary in the first round before losing to second-best Edmonton in the division finals. From 1994 to 2013, the top eight teams in each conference made the playoffs, with the division winners being guaranteed

2109-631: The first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded. The format for the Stanley Cup championship changed in 1922 , with the creation of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Now three leagues competed for the Cup and this necessitated a semi-final series between two league champions, with the third having a bye directly to the finals. In 1924 , the PCHA and the WCHL merged to form the Western Hockey League (WHL) and

2166-536: The game was forfeited to the Red Wings, and the Forum was evacuated. What ensued was a full-fledged riot in which 60 people were arrested and $ 500,000 in damage was done. Campbell was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. He was instrumental in the 1967 expansion , which doubled the league in size, and often worked 18 hours a day in his office. At the beginning of the league's Expansion Era in 1967–68 ,

2223-424: The job, however, and when Campbell returned to Canada in 1946, Dutton resigned and Campbell accepted the presidency. One of his first acts of authority was in 1948, when he expelled players Billy Taylor and Don Gallinger from the NHL for betting on games. As NHL President, Campbell is perhaps best remembered for suspending Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard for the remaining three games of

2280-464: The next eight finals. Gallivan called his last championship series in 1978 . For decades, Hockey Night in Canada on CBC remained the exclusive English-language broadcaster across Canada, except in 1972 when a lengthy NABET strike forced coverage to be instead aired on CTV , and from 1985 to 1988 when the series was split between CBC and either CTV or Global TV . In 2015 , the CBC telecast became

2337-477: The playoff teams were seeded regardless of division or conference. From 1982 to 2020 , the NHL's final round pitted the league's two conference playoff champions. In 2021 , the league temporarily realigned due the COVID-19 pandemic , as a result the four playoff division champions were re-seeded and played in the Semifinals, with the winners of those series advancing to the finals. The league then returned to

Western Conference (NHL) - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-701: The postseason under this format while the Minnesota North Stars only missed three times. In the Smythe Division, the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers missed the playoffs only once and the original Winnipeg Jets twice. In both cases, this usually left the other two teams to fight it out for the last playoff spot. In most years, this format resulted in the strongest teams during the regular season being forced to meet in

2451-402: The previous conference based playoff format in 2022 . ^ 1. The NHL includes the Toronto Hockey Club ( Toronto Arenas ) 1918 win and the 1922 Toronto St. Patricks win in the Toronto Maple Leafs total. ^ 2. The Chicago Blackhawks were known as the Chicago Black Hawks before the 1986–87 season . ^ 3. The Montreal Canadiens totals include the 1919 finals that ended with

2508-401: The representatives of the three pro leagues (NHA, PCHA and Maritime) to make all arrangements each season as to the series of matches to be played for the Cup." Victoria vs. Toronto All games played at Arena Gardens in Toronto. Part of their 1913 agreement to set up drafting and player rights ownership, the NHA and PCHA agreed to have their respective champions face each other for

2565-420: The rights at various times, but they each only covered selected games of the series. It was then carried on syndication from 1976 to 1979 through the 1970s NHL Network . In 1980, the Hughes broadcast network simulcast CBC's feed before the series was moved to cable. During its time on cable from 1980 to 1993, rights to the series was held at various times by USA , SportsChannel America , and ESPN , but there

2622-406: The series has been rotated annually between ABC in even years and the cable channel TNT in odd years (with the option for simulcasts on their respective sister cable networks or streaming platforms). The championship series began with the interleague 'World Series' played in one city. The series alternated between a rink of the NHA and later the NHL and a rink of the PCHA and later the WCHL/WHL. It

2679-520: The teams, but the existing names were retained with the Campbell Conference becoming the conference for the NHL's westernmost teams. The names of conferences and divisions were changed in 1993 to reflect 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. However,

2736-422: The top seeds (top two from 1994 to 1998, top three from 1999 to 2013) and home ice in the first round regardless of record. Unique between 1994 and 1998, a series involving a Central Division team and a Pacific Division team was a 2–3–2 rotation instead of the normal 2–2–1–1–1 format, with the higher seeded team having the option of starting play at home or on the road. A new playoff format was introduced as part of

2793-405: The trophy awarded to the conference champion, the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl , retains some connection to the heritage of the league. In 2005, following the lockout, the league changed the Western Conference logo (along with the Eastern Conference and NHL logos) to its current form. Along with the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference was temporarily abolished for the 2020–21 NHL season after

2850-442: The trustees thought they were being purposely ignored. The Victoria challenge was accepted. Any tension was diffused as Toronto successfully defended the Cup by sweeping a best-of-five series in three games. This began the end of the influence of the Stanley Cup trustees on the challengers and series for the Cup. In March 1914, trustee William Foran wrote to NHA president Emmett Quinn that the trustees are "perfectly satisfied to allow

2907-421: Was interred at the National Field of Honour in Pointe-Claire , Quebec. Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, French : Finale de la Coupe Stanley ) is the National Hockey League 's (NHL) annual championship series. The winner is awarded the Stanley Cup , North America's oldest professional sports trophy, and one of

SECTION 50

#1732773381410

2964-443: Was no exclusive coverage of games and thus local broadcasters could also still televise them regionally as well. In 1995 , Fox signed on to be the exclusive national broadcast network of selected games of the final round, splitting it with ESPN. This splitting of exclusive national coverage between a cable and a broadcast network was then passed to ABC and ESPN in 2000 , and then NBC and Versus (now NBCSN ) in 2006 . Since 2022 ,

3021-416: Was not until the demise of the WHL, that the final series alternated games between the two finalists' home ice. The series allowed ties until 1928. As the two and later three leagues differed, the series would alternate using each league's rules. The PCHA continued to use seven-man team play, and games would alternate with six and seven-man games. After the NHL became the last remaining league to compete for

3078-415: Was one of the prosecutors at one of several trial courts of leading Nazis who were put on trial for crimes against humanity . It has been widely reported that Campbell participated in the Nuremberg Trials , but he said that was untrue in a Sports Illustrated article published in 1974. Meanwhile, Calder had died, and with Campbell overseas, the NHL named Red Dutton president. Dutton did not want

3135-489: Was renamed the Western Conference in 1993 , the Campbell Bowl continues to be awarded to the conference's playoff champion. In 1976, Campbell was charged with bribing Senator Louis Giguère in the "Sky Shops" scandal. He was convicted, but the NHL paid his fine and he served no time because of his age. Campbell was a sick man by the time he retired as NHL president in 1977. He spent the last years of his life plagued with respiratory ailments, and died on June 24, 1984. He

3192-427: Was the inauguration of the first "World Series" of ice hockey, a series between the Stanley Cup and league champion Toronto Hockey Club of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Victoria Aristocrats , champions of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). The series was pre-arranged between the two leagues before the season after post-season exhibitions held in their previous seasons. The inaugural series

3249-409: Was to be held in the city of the NHA champion, and alternate annually following the series. After the series got under way, there was some concern that the series would not produce an "official" Stanley Cup champion. The Victoria club had not formally applied to the Stanley Cup trustees to challenge for the Cup. A letter arrived from the Stanley Cup trustees on March 17, that the trustees would not let

#409590