the nhl expanded from 6 teams in 1963.
the nhl expanded from 6 teams in 1963.
when did the nhl expand from 6 teams?
1963
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this season saw the nhl expand from the "original six" teams by adding six new franchises, including the st. louis blues, california seals, philadelphia flyers, minnesota north stars, pittsburgh penguins, and los angeles kings. on december 8, 1967, the california seals were renamed the oakland seals before being renamed again to the california golden seals in 1970. as a result of the expansion, the league reorganized its teams into two divisions, placing the original six teams into the east division and the expansion franchises into the west division. the nhl, furthermore, increased its regular season schedule from 70 to 74 games per team with each team playing 50 games against opponents within its own division (10 against each divisional opponent) and 24 games with teams in the opposite division (4 games per opponent). the newly created clarence s. campbell bowl was awarded to the team that finished first in the west division during the regular season, the prince of wales trophy was likewise awarded the east division first-place team. a new format for the playoffs would also be introduced which would see the top four teams in each division qualify for the post-season with the first and third and the second and fourth place teams in each respective division pairing off in a divisional semi-final series. the winners of the latter would then compete in their respective divisional final series and a berth in the stanley cup finals. all series would be best-of-seven contests.
1967–68 nhl season