NHL Conference Finals

The National Hockey League (NHL) Conference Finals are the Eastern Conference and Western Conference championship series of the NHL. The Conference Finals are best-of-seven series. The two series are played in late May each year after the first and second rounds of the playoffs and before the Stanley Cup Final. The remaining two teams in the Eastern conference and Western Conference after the second round play off. The winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl respectively. The series winners go on to the Stanley Cup Final.

History

For more details on this topic, see Stanley Cup playoffs.

Before the 1967–68 season, the NHL was made up only of a single division. From the 1967–68 season through the 1973–74 season, the NHL was made up of two divisions (as opposed to conferences), the East Division and the West Division.

Following the 1973–74 season, the NHL again realigned. The East and West Divisions were renamed the Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell Conferences, respectively. At the time, the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography and geographical references were removed.

Beginning in the 1981–82 season, the conferences and the playoffs were realigned. The NHL was hoping to reduce travel costs in the face of a struggling economy and high energy prices. The regular season and playoffs were also altered to emphasize divisional match-ups.

Beginning in the 1993–94 season, the names of conferences and divisions were changed to reflect their geographic locations. At the instigation of then-new NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the NHL 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. Therefore, the Campbell Conference became the Western Conference and the Wales Conference became the Eastern Conference. The respective winners of the Eastern and Western Conference Finals receive the Prince of Wales Trophy and Clarence S. Campbell Bowl.

Four currently active franchises (Phoenix Coyotes, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets, and Columbus Blue Jackets) have never appeared in a Conference Final. The Hurricanes, when known as the Hartford Whalers, and the Coyotes, when known as the Winnipeg Jets, never appeared in a Conference Final.

Prince of Wales Conference/Eastern Conference

Prince of Wales Conference (1982–1993)

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Games	Eventual Cup Winner
1982	New York Islanders	Quebec Nordiques	4	•
1983	New York Islanders	Boston Bruins	6	•
1984	New York Islanders	Montreal Canadiens	6
1985	Philadelphia Flyers	Quebec Nordiques	6
1986	Montreal Canadiens	New York Rangers	5	•
1987	Philadelphia Flyers	Montreal Canadiens	6
1988	Boston Bruins	New Jersey Devils	7
1989	Montreal Canadiens	Philadelphia Flyers	6
1990	Boston Bruins	Washington Capitals	4
1991	Pittsburgh Penguins	Boston Bruins	6	•
1992	Pittsburgh Penguins	Boston Bruins	4	•
1993	Montreal Canadiens	New York Islanders	5	•

Eastern Conference (Since 1994)

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Games	Eventual Cup Winner
1994	New York Rangers	New Jersey Devils	7	•
1995	New Jersey Devils	Philadelphia Flyers	6	•
1996	Florida Panthers	Pittsburgh Penguins	7
1997	Philadelphia Flyers	New York Rangers	5
1998	Washington Capitals	Buffalo Sabres	6
1999	Buffalo Sabres	Toronto Maple Leafs	5
2000	New Jersey Devils	Philadelphia Flyers	7	•
2001	New Jersey Devils	Pittsburgh Penguins	5
2002	Carolina Hurricanes	Toronto Maple Leafs	6
2003	New Jersey Devils	Ottawa Senators	7	•
2004	Tampa Bay Lightning	Philadelphia Flyers	7	•
No Conference Finals played due to the lockout.
2006	Carolina Hurricanes	Buffalo Sabres	7	•
2007	Ottawa Senators	Buffalo Sabres	5
2008	Pittsburgh Penguins	Philadelphia Flyers	5
2009	Pittsburgh Penguins	Carolina Hurricanes	4	•
2010	Philadelphia Flyers	Montreal Canadiens	5
2011	Boston Bruins	Tampa Bay Lightning	7	•

Clarence Campbell Conference/Western Conference

Clarence Campbell Conference (1982–1993)

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Games	Eventual Cup Winner
1982	Vancouver Canucks	Chicago Black Hawks	5
1983	Edmonton Oilers	Chicago Black Hawks	4
1984	Edmonton Oilers	Minnesota North Stars	4	•
1985	Edmonton Oilers	Chicago Black Hawks	6	•
1986	Calgary Flames	St. Louis Blues	7
1987	Edmonton Oilers	Detroit Red Wings	5	•
1988	Edmonton Oilers	Detroit Red Wings	5	•
1989	Calgary Flames	Chicago Blackhawks	5	•
1990	Edmonton Oilers	Chicago Blackhawks	6	•
1991	Minnesota North Stars	Edmonton Oilers	5
1992	Chicago Blackhawks	Edmonton Oilers	4
1993	Los Angeles Kings	Toronto Maple Leafs	7

Western Conference (Since 1994)

Year	Champion	Runner-Up	Games	Eventual Cup Winner
1994	Vancouver Canucks	Toronto Maple Leafs	5
1995	Detroit Red Wings	Chicago Blackhawks	5
1996	Colorado Avalanche	Detroit Red Wings	6	•
1997	Detroit Red Wings	Colorado Avalanche	6	•
1998	Detroit Red Wings	Dallas Stars	6	•
1999	Dallas Stars	Colorado Avalanche	7	•
2000	Dallas Stars	Colorado Avalanche	7
2001	Colorado Avalanche	St. Louis Blues	5	•
2002	Detroit Red Wings	Colorado Avalanche	7	•
2003	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	Minnesota Wild	4
2004	Calgary Flames	San Jose Sharks	6
No Conference Finals played due to the lockout.
2006	Edmonton Oilers	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	5
2007	Anaheim Ducks	Detroit Red Wings	6	•
2008	Detroit Red Wings	Dallas Stars	6	•
2009	Detroit Red Wings	Chicago Blackhawks	5
2010	Chicago Blackhawks	San Jose Sharks	4	•
2011	Vancouver Canucks	San Jose Sharks	5

Team totals

Legend: CF = Conference Final; SCF = Stanley Cup Final; Bolded year denotes win

Team	CF appearances	CF wins	%	Cup wins	%	Last CF	Consecutive CF	Consecutive SCF appearances
Detroit Red Wings	10	6	60%	4	66.7%	2009	4	2
Edmonton Oilers	9	7	77.8%	5	71.4%	2006	3	3
Philadelphia Flyers	9	4	44.4%	0	0%	2010	-	-
Chicago Blackhawks	9	2	22.2%	1	50%	2010	2	-
Colorado Avalanche	8	2	25%	2	100%	2002	4	-
New Jersey Devils	6	4	66.7%	3	75%	2003	2	2
Pittsburgh Penguins	6	4	66.7%	3	75%	2009	2	2
Boston Bruins	6	3	50%	1	33.3%	2011	3	-
Dallas Stars	6	3	50%	1	33.3%	2008	3	2
Montreal Canadiens	6	3	50%	2	66.7%	2010	2	-
New York Islanders	4	3	75%	2	66.7%	1993	3	3
Buffalo Sabres	4	1	25%	0	0%	2007	2	-
Toronto Maple Leafs	4	0	0%	0	0%	2002	2	-
Calgary Flames	3	3	100%	1	33.3%	2004	-	-
Vancouver Canucks	3	3	100%	0	0%	2011	-	-
Anaheim Ducks	3	2	66.7%	1	50%	2007	2	-
Carolina Hurricanes	3	2	66.7%	1	50%	2009	-	-
New York Rangers	3	1	33.3%	1	100%	1997	-	-
San Jose Sharks	3	0	0%	0	0%	2011	2	-
Ottawa Senators	2	1	50%	0	0%	2007	-	-
Tampa Bay Lightning	2	1	50%	1	100%	2011	-	-
Washington Capitals	2	1	50%	0	0%	1998	-	-
St. Louis Blues	2	0	0%	0	0%	2001	-	-
Florida Panthers	1	1	100%	0	0%	1996	-	-
Los Angeles Kings	1	1	100%	0	0%	1993	-	-
Minnesota Wild	1	0	0%	0	0%	2003	-	-

Note: The Colorado Avalanche totals include two Conference Finals appearances as the Quebec Nordiques (both losses), and the Dallas Stars totals include two Conference Finals appearances as the Minnesota North Stars (one win; subsequent Stanley Cup Final loss).

See also

• List of Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Finals broadcasters
• List of Stanley Cup Western Conference Finals broadcasters

References

External links

• Playoff Index - Hockey-Reference.com