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Central Division (NHL)

The National Hockey League's Central Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. Its predecessor was the Norris Division, and it's also one of two successors to the Northwest Division. The Chicago Blackhawks have been a member of the Central Division in all of its seasons since the original 1993 realignment. The Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues were also original members of the division, but were realigned to a different division for a while before returning; both the Coyotes and Stars were moved to the Pacific Division in 1998, while the Blues were moved to the West Division during the temporary 2020–21 realignment. Three of its teams—the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets —joined the NHL during a league expansion phase between 1998 and 2000. The fourth team in that three-year expansion period, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was once a member of the Central Division, but moved to the Metropolitan Division after the 2013 realignment. In all, the division today comprises the Blackhawks, Jets, Stars, Blues, Wild, Predators, Colorado Avalanche, and Utah Mammoth.

Division lineups
1993–1996 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago BlackhawksDallas StarsDetroit Red WingsSt. Louis BluesToronto Maple LeafsWinnipeg Jets Changes from the 1992–93 season • The Central Division is formed as the result of NHL realignment • The Minnesota North Stars move to Dallas, Texas, and become the Dallas Stars • The Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and Toronto Maple Leafs come from the Norris Division • The Winnipeg Jets come from the Smythe Division 1996–1998 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Dallas Stars • Detroit Red Wings • Phoenix Coyotes • St. Louis Blues • Toronto Maple Leafs Changes from the 1995–96 season • The Winnipeg Jets move to Phoenix, Arizona, to become the Phoenix Coyotes 1998–2000 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Detroit Red Wings • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues Changes from the 1997–98 season • The Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes move to the Pacific Division • The Toronto Maple Leafs move to the Northeast Division • The Nashville Predators are added as an expansion team 2000–2013 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Columbus Blue Jackets • Detroit Red Wings • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues Changes from the 1999–2000 season • The Columbus Blue Jackets are added as an expansion team 2013–2020 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Colorado Avalanche • Dallas Stars • Minnesota Wild • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues • Winnipeg Jets Changes from the 2012–13 season • The Northwest Division is dissolved due to NHL realignment • The Columbus Blue Jackets move to the Metropolitan Division • The Detroit Red Wings move to the Atlantic Division • The Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild come from the Northwest Division • The Dallas Stars come from the Pacific Division • The Winnipeg Jets come from the Southeast Division 2020–2021 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Carolina Hurricanes • Chicago Blackhawks • Columbus Blue Jackets • Dallas Stars • Detroit Red Wings • Florida Panthers • Nashville Predators • Tampa Bay Lightning Changes from the 2019–20 season • Due to COVID-19 restrictions the NHL realigned into four divisions with no conferences for the 2020–21 season • The Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues move to the West Division • The Winnipeg Jets move to the North Division • The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets come from the Metropolitan Division • The Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning come from the Atlantic Division 2021–2024 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Arizona Coyotes • Chicago Blackhawks • Colorado Avalanche • Dallas Stars • Minnesota Wild • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues • Winnipeg Jets Changes from the 2020–21 season • The league returned to using a four division and two conference alignment • The Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets move to the Metropolitan Division • The Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning move to the Atlantic Division • The Arizona Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues come from the West Division • The Winnipeg Jets come from the North Division From the 2013–20 alignment to this grouping, the only change was the addition of the Arizona Coyotes, moved from the Pacific Division to make room there for the expansion Seattle Kraken. 2024–2025 {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Colorado Avalanche • Dallas Stars • Minnesota Wild • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues • Utah Hockey Club • Winnipeg Jets Changes from the 2023–24 season • The Arizona Coyotes cease operations • The Coyotes' hockey operations including draft picks, personnel and player contracts are sold to the expansion Utah Hockey Club based in Salt Lake City, Utah • The Utah Hockey Club are added as an expansion team 2025–present {{CSS crop {{Location map+ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America {{Location map~ | North America • Chicago Blackhawks • Colorado Avalanche • Dallas Stars • Minnesota Wild • Nashville Predators • St. Louis Blues • Utah Mammoth • Winnipeg Jets Changes from the 2024–25 season • The Utah Hockey Club is renamed to the Utah Mammoth ==Division champions==
Division champions
• 1994 – Detroit Red Wings (46–30–8, 100 pts) • 1995 – Detroit Red Wings (33–11–4, 70 pts) • 1996 – Detroit Red Wings (62–13–7, 131 pts) • 1997 – Dallas Stars (48–26–8, 104 pts) • 1998 – Dallas Stars (49–22–11, 109 pts) • 1999 – Detroit Red Wings (43–32–7, 93 pts) • 2000 – St. Louis Blues (51–19–11–1, 114 pts) • 2001 – Detroit Red Wings (49–20–9–4, 111 pts) • 2002 – Detroit Red Wings (51–17–10–4, 116 pts) • 2003 – Detroit Red Wings (48–20–10–4, 110 pts) • 2004 – Detroit Red Wings (48–21–11–2, 109 pts) • 2005 – no season (NHL Lockout) • 2006 – Detroit Red Wings (58–16–8, 124 pts) • 2007 – Detroit Red Wings (50–19–13, 113 pts) • 2008 – Detroit Red Wings (54–21–7, 115 pts) • 2009 – Detroit Red Wings (51–21–10, 112 pts) • 2010 – Chicago Blackhawks (52–22–8, 112 pts) • 2011 – Detroit Red Wings (47–25–10, 104 pts) • 2012 – St. Louis Blues (49–22–11, 109 pts) • 2013 – Chicago Blackhawks (36–7–5, 77 pts) • 2014 – Colorado Avalanche (52–22–8, 112 pts) • 2015 – St. Louis Blues (51–24–7, 109 pts) • 2016 – Dallas Stars (50–23–9, 109 pts) • 2017 – Chicago Blackhawks (50–23–9, 109 pts) • 2018 – Nashville Predators (53–18–11, 117 pts) • 2019 – Nashville Predators (47–29–6, 100 pts) • 2020 – St. Louis Blues (42–19–10, 94 pts) • 2021 – Carolina Hurricanes (36–12–8, 80 pts) • 2022 – Colorado Avalanche (56–19–7, 119 pts) • 2023 – Colorado Avalanche (51–24–7, 109 pts) • 2024 – Dallas Stars (52–21–9, 113 pts) • 2025 – Winnipeg Jets (56–22–4, 116 pts) • 2026 – Colorado Avalanche Season results ;Notes • The 1994–95 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout. • The 2012–13 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout. • The 2019–20 NHL season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the imbalance in the number of games played among teams, the regular season standings were determined by points percentage. • The 2020–21 NHL season was shortened to 56 games due the COVID-19 pandemic and the Canada–United States border closure. ==Stanley Cup winners produced==
Stanley Cup winners produced
• 1997 – Detroit Red Wings • 1998 – Detroit Red Wings • 2002 – Detroit Red Wings • 2008 – Detroit Red Wings • 2010 – Chicago Blackhawks • 2013 – Chicago Blackhawks • 2015 – Chicago Blackhawks • 2019 – St. Louis Blues • 2021 – Tampa Bay Lightning • 2022 – Colorado Avalanche ==Presidents' Trophy winners produced==
Presidents' Trophy winners produced
• 1995 – Detroit Red Wings • 1996 – Detroit Red Wings • 1998 – Dallas Stars • 2000 – St. Louis Blues • 2002 – Detroit Red Wings • 2004 – Detroit Red Wings • 2006 – Detroit Red Wings • 2008 – Detroit Red Wings • 2013 – Chicago Blackhawks • 2018 – Nashville Predators • 2025 – Winnipeg Jets • 2026 - Colorado Avalanche ==Central Division titles won by team==
Central Division titles won by team
Teams in bold are currently in the division. ==References==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com