The
National Hockey League's American Division was formed after expansion in 1926. The division existed for 12 seasons until 1938.
During its run as a separate division, the American Division was the slightly more successful of the league's two divisions. American Division teams won seven
Stanley Cup championships compared with five won by the
Canadian Division and contested three intra-divisional Finals under the cross-over playoff format then in use, compared to only one such Finals between two Canadian Division teams.
The American Division is formed as the result of NHL realignment.
The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Pirates join the American Division.
The Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Cougars and New York Rangers are admitted as expansion teams. (The Black Hawks and Cougars acquired the contracts of the
Portland Rosebuds and
Victoria Cougars, respectively, from the disbanding
Western Hockey League however the league does not consider the Chicago and Detroit franchises to be continuations of the defunct WHL teams.)