Eastern Conference logo, circa
2006
French version of the Eastern Conference logo
The Eastern Conference is one of two conferences in the National Hockey
League (NHL) used to divide teams. Its counterpart is the Western
Conference.
Previously known as the Prince of Wales Conference (or Wales Conference
for short), it was created in 1974 when the NHL realigned its teams into two
conferences and four divisions. Because the new conferences and divisions had little to do with North American geography,
geographical references were removed. The conference was instead named for the Prince of
Wales Trophy, which was given to the conference's annual champion.
The conferences and divisions were re-aligned in 1981 to better reflect the
geographical locations of the teams, but the existing names were retained with the Wales Conference becoming the conference for
the NHL's Eastern North America teams. The names of conferences and divisions were changed in 1993 to reflect their geographic locations. Then-new NHL commissioner Gary Bettman 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. However, the move angered purists and older hockey fans, who felt the change removed any
touch of the history of the league. Critics also noted that baseball and football fans wouldn't be confused by divisions being
named after major figures like Roberto Clemente or Walter Payton. The trophy awarded to the conference champion, the Prince of Wales Trophy, retains some
connection to the heritage of the league.
Divisions
Prior to the 1993 realignment, the Wales Conference consisted of the Adams Division
and the Patrick Division. Currently, the Eastern Conference comprises 15 teams in three
divisions: Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast.
Champions
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