Just For the Fun of It

One of the most enormous undertakings initiated by the NHL was the 6 team expansion  for the 1967-68 season. The NHL determined that all 6 clubs would form the Western Division of the league.

The post expansion Western Division would only survive until 1970-71. With further expansion to Buffalo and Vancouver, both of these franchises joined the Eastern Division. The Chicago Blackhawks headed west.

As promised, let's get to the "just for the fun of it" aspect of this story. Close your eyes and suspend belief for a short period.

Imagine that the 1967-68 Western Division was still in operation. What would the standings look like after 40-plus years of going to battle. Statistics from the National Hockey League 2010 Official Guide were used to construct the follow list.

 

WESTERN DIVISION STANDINGS 1967-2009
TEAM	GP	W	L	T	OL
Flyers	3,260	1,621	1,118	457	64
Blues	3,260	1,417	1,342	432	69
N. Stars	3,260	1,389	1,362	459	50
Penguins	3,260	1,360	1,452	383	65
Kings	3,260	1,296	1,477	424	63
Seals	/	/	/	/	/
TEAM	GF	GA	PTS
Flyers	11,024	9,590	3,763
Blues	10,201	10,332	3,335
N. Stars	10,138	10,393	3,287
Penguins	10,970	11,576	3,168
Kings	10,652	11,420	3,079
Seals	/	/	/

The undisputed leader in the majority of categories are the Philadelphia Flyers. The early success of the Scotty Bowman coached St. Louis Blues, enabled them to capture the number 2 spot. The Stanley Cup Champions (3) of this lot are the Pittsburgh Penguins, who rank fourth. At the bottom are the Los Angeles Kings.

One causality resulted in the Western Division shrinking to 5 members. The California Seals/Oakland Seals/California Golden Seals, were transferred to Cleveland in 1976-77, then merged with the Minnesota North Stars for the 1978-79 season. The Minnesota North Stars moved to Dallas to start the 1993-94 campaign.

Okay, you can open your eyes.