Pacific Division (NHL)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Pacific Division (NBA).
Pacific Division
FormerlySmythe Division
ConferenceWestern Conference
LeagueNational Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Founded1993
Suspended in 2020–21
2021 (reactivated)
No. of teams8
Most recent
champion(s)		Vancouver Canucks (1st title)
Most titlesAnaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks (6 titles each)

The National Hockey League's Pacific Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. It is also one of the two successors of the Smythe Division (the other one was the Northwest Division), though of the current teams, only the Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken and Vegas Golden Knights did not play in the Smythe Division. Due to subsequent realignments, three of the Pacific Division's original teams (the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Vancouver Canucks) left the division in 1998 but returned in 2013. The division is the only one in the NHL without any Original Six teams. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of the Canada–United States border, all eight teams were transferred into two different divisions for the 2020–21 NHL season. The American-based teams were moved to the West Division, while the Canadian-based teams were placed into the North Division.

With the addition of the expansion Seattle Kraken to the division in the 2021–22 NHL season and the NHL becoming a 32 team league, the Coyotes were moved to the Central Division to balance out the divisional alignment of eight teams per division.[1]

Division lineups

1993–1995

Mighty Ducks
Flames
Oilers
Kings
Sharks
Canucks
1993–95 Teams

Changes from the 1992–93 season

  • The Pacific Division is formed as a result of NHL realignment
  • The Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks come from the Smythe Division
  • The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim are added as an expansion team

1995–1998