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 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; the Stars were moved to the Pacific Division in 1998 (the Stars moved back to the Central in 2013, and the Coyotes followed in 2021), while the Blues were moved to the West Division during the temporary 2020–21 realignment. The Winnipeg Jets were an original member of the division before it deactivated in 1996, with its hockey assets relocating to Phoenix as the Coyotes. The Coyotes assumed the Jets' place in the Central Division before moving to the Pacific Division in 1998. A second incarnation of the Jets–formerly the Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 to 2011–moved back to the Central Division in 2013. Two of its teams—the Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators—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.
After the addition of the Vegas Golden Knights to the Pacific Division in 2017, the Central Division was the only division in the NHL without eight teams. This situation remained in effect until the 2020–21 NHL season, when the COVID-19 pandemic compelled a radical re-alignment of the divisions, including the temporary abolition of the Eastern and Western conferences. The Central Division was the only existing division retained for the 2020–21 NHL season. Only three of the eight Central Division teams for 2020–21 were members of the division in the previous season. Two seasons later, the Pacific gained another expansion team in the Seattle Kraken, and the Coyotes returned to the Central. In 2024, the Coyotes were relocated to Salt Lake City to become the Mammoth, forming the present members of the Central.
The Central Division has sent five teams to the Stanley Cup playoffs on seven occasions. In the first three seasons after the realignment of 2013, Central Division teams occupied both Wild Card playoff spots in the Western Conference. This occurred again in the 2018–19 season, for the fourth time in six seasons. In the pandemic-shortened 2019–20 season, all Central Division teams made the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs due to the 24-team format.
Contents
Division lineups
1993–1996
Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
Winnipeg Jets
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
Chicago Blackhawks
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Phoenix Coyotes
St. Louis Blues
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Winnipeg Jets were deactivated
The Jets' hockey operations including draft picks, personnel and player contracts moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to become the Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes are added as an expansion team
1998–2000
Chicago Blackhawks
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
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
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
The Columbus Blue Jackets are added as an expansion team
2013–2020
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
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 (reactivated as the Atlanta Thrashers from 1999 to 2011) come from the Southeast Division
2020–2021
Carolina Hurricanes
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Nashville Predators
Tampa Bay Lightning
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
Arizona Coyotes
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets
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
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Utah Hockey Club
Winnipeg Jets
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
Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Utah Mammoth
Winnipeg Jets
The Utah Hockey Club is renamed to the Utah Mammoth
Season results
Notes
a The 1994–95 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout.
b The 2012–13 NHL season was shortened to 48 games due to the lockout.
c 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.
d The 2020–21 NHL season was shortened to 56 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Canada–United States border closure.
Central Division titles won by team
Teams in bold are currently in the division.