Why did Black Hawks go to West in 1970?
- Thread starter Scintillating10
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Big Phil
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- Nov 2, 2003
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Vancouver and Buffalo did go to the East division actually and Chicago came to the West. So it was Chicago with the original expansion teams. They were getting better though. St. Louis and Philly weren't great teams then, but they were improving. Toronto and Detroit on the other end were declining. Only Montreal, Boston and NYR were elite, as well as Chicago. So it was a little unbalanced, but not as bad as the first three years after expansion. Starting in 1971 there was a crossover to get to the final. So Chicago was actually playing the Rangers in the semis, so it wasn't a clear path to the final by any means. In 1968, 1969 and 1970 for whatever reason they put all the expansion teams in one division and they all played each other en route to the final. This is why there were three sweeps in a row and why great teams like the Habs in 1970 or the Red Wings in 1969 missed the playoffs. 1971 they actually rectified this. Why it took them three years is anybody's guess.
SealsFan
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- May 3, 2009
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It was an annoying feature of the 70's that the frequent divisional realignments rarely had much to do with geographical location, but rather how a team was performing at the time. If you went any further west, you'd be in the Pacific Ocean yet the expansion Vancouver Canucks were placed in the "East" division. So they decided to move Chicago over to the "West" since they were the most westward-located city among the Eastern division teams. Did the NHL think the six 1967 expansionists plus the two new entries were going to be perpetually performing as expansion teams and therefore couldn't all be grouped in the same division? I guess with no precedent to go by, the NHL couldn't envision that soon Philly, LA, Minnesota and Pittsburgh would ice competitive teams at various times over the next 10-15 years....
Even though before I began watching the game (as I would have been a small toddler at the time), I always thought that had Detroit been moved to the West (along with Chicago) in about 1970, that would have meant at least a couple of more seasons in the playoffs for the decent to good teams they had in those years (1972 and 1973). I think it was Buffalo that edged them out of the playoffs in the last day or two of the 1972-73, even though Detroit had 86 points and well over .500.
NHL divisions made little sense back then.
Look at this 1980 alignment example:
http://www.shrpsports.com/nhl/stand/1981finaldiv.htm
LA was in a division with MTL?!?!
Calgary played in what is essentially the core of the current Metro division
Look at this 1980 alignment example:
http://www.shrpsports.com/nhl/stand/1981finaldiv.htm
LA was in a division with MTL?!?!
Calgary played in what is essentially the core of the current Metro division
"Calgary played in what is essentially the core of the current Metro division"
I remember that too, in the same division as the Rangers, Philadelphia, and Islanders. I think that was because when the Patrick division was originally created in 1974, the Atlanta Flames were there along with the other aforementioned teams. Making some, if not a great deal, of geographic sense at the time, lol.
I remember that too, in the same division as the Rangers, Philadelphia, and Islanders. I think that was because when the Patrick division was originally created in 1974, the Atlanta Flames were there along with the other aforementioned teams. Making some, if not a great deal, of geographic sense at the time, lol.
KingsFan7824
Registered User
Look how long it took the NHL to expand from 6 teams after having to fold a few franchises. All 6 expansion teams were put in one division because the league wanted them to have a chance to do something. They Bettman'd the league before Bettman did, and that was back when men were men, and losers went home. Maybe if they didn't double the league in one shot they wouldn't have had to do that, but, that was a radical move.
Then when you have 3 sweeps in a row, that's an anti-climactic Final, so move an established team over. Then Philly emerged after a few years, and now there's some competition. Then more expansion teams were added, and they broke up the divisions. They didn't make much sense from a geographical standpoint, but the playoffs weren't geographic anyway. It was league wide, top 3 per division, and division winners got a bye. The Atlanta Flames missed the playoffs in 74-75, despite having a better record than both Chicago and Toronto, because of the playoff format. The more things change...
Geographically speaking, Chicago should've been in the West in 1967 anyway. Them and Detroit. Or, the league could've split into 3 divisions in 1967, with a West, Central, and East, and who knows how that would've changed future alignments. Maybe the league ends up with a MLB/NFL style system. Although it's that way in those leagues because two different leagues merged, not so much an expansion of one league.
