The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as the NHL's Rookie of the Year award, this version of the trophy has been awarded since its creation for the 1936–37 NHL season. The voting is conducted by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the conclusion of each regular season to determine the winner.

Eligibility When the award was established in 1937, there were no requirements beyond that the winner be in his first year of competition in the NHL, and the winner was decided by League President Frank Calder himself.

Currently, the eligibility requirements are that a player cannot have played more than 25 regular season games in any single preceding season, nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding regular seasons, in any major professional league. The last requirement was implemented in 1979 to block Wayne Gretzky (who had played a single season in the World Hockey Association the year before) from winning the award. After the Calder win of 31-year-old Sergei Makarov in 1991 (following the influx of Eastern Bloc players around the fall of the Soviet Union), the rules were further amended to require that winners be 26 years of age or younger.

Further, the limitation is for regular season games only, exempting games played in the playoffs. This has led to aberrations such as Ken Dryden winning the Calder in 1972, despite leading the Montreal Canadiens to a Stanley Cup victory the season before, and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

History

The Calder Memorial Trophy is named in honour of Frank Calder, the former president of the National Hockey League (NHL) from its inception in 1917 to his death in 1943. Although Rookie of the Year honors were handed out beginning in 1932–33, the Calder Trophy was first presented at the conclusion of the 1936–37 season. Calder himself purchased a trophy each year to award to the winner.

After Calder's death in 1943 a permanent trophy was cast, and it was renamed the Calder Memorial Trophy.

The trophy has been won the most times by rookies from the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have won it on ten occasions, with the most recent being Auston Matthews in 2017. The second-most is the Chicago Blackhawks with nine wins.

Since the 1947–48 season, the voting is conducted at the end of the regular season by members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, and each individual voter ranks their top five candidates on a 10–7–5–3–1 points system. Three finalists are named and the trophy is awarded at the NHL Awards ceremony after the playoffs.

Winners +Positions key C Centre LW Left wing RW Right wing D Defence G Goaltender

+Calder Memorial Trophy winners Season Winner Team Position Age 1932–33 Detroit Red Wings C 25 1933–34 Montreal Maroons C 25 1934–35 New York Americans LW 22 1935–36 Chicago Black Hawks G 23 1936–37 Toronto Maple Leafs C 21 1937–38 Chicago Black Hawks C 24 1938–39 Boston Bruins G 24 1939–40 New York Rangers LW 25 1940–41 Montreal Canadiens C 19 1941–42 New York Rangers RW 19 1942–43 Toronto Maple Leafs RW 19 1943–44 Toronto Maple Leafs C 20 1944–45 Toronto Maple Leafs G 25 1945–46 New York Rangers C 25 1946–47 Toronto Maple Leafs RW 21 1947–48 Detroit Red Wings C 27 1948–49 New York Rangers RW 22 1949–50 Boston Bruins G 24 1950–51 Detroit Red Wings G 20 1951–52 Montreal Canadiens RW 20 1952–53 New York Rangers G 23 1953–54 New York Rangers C 20 1954–55 Chicago Black Hawks RW 22 1955–56 Detroit Red Wings G 23 1956–57 Boston Bruins RW 26 1957–58 Toronto Maple Leafs LW 19 1958–59 Montreal Canadiens C 20 1959–60 Chicago Black Hawks C 23 1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs C 20 1961–62 Montreal Canadiens RW 21 1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs D 26 1963–64 Montreal Canadiens D 21 1964–65 Detroit Red Wings G 22 1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs LW 20 1966–67 Boston Bruins D 18 1967–68 Boston Bruins C 21 1968–69 Minnesota North Stars RW 23 1969–70 Chicago Black Hawks G 26 1970–71 Buffalo Sabres C 19 1971–72 Montreal Canadiens G 24 1972–73 New York Rangers LW 21 1973–74 New York Islanders D 19 1974–75 Atlanta Flames LW 20 1975–76 New York Islanders C 19 1976–77 Atlanta Flames RW 21 1977–78 New York Islanders RW 20 1978–79 Minnesota North Stars C 20 1979–80 Boston Bruins D 19 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques C 24 1981–82 Winnipeg Jets C 18 1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks RW 21 1983–84 Buffalo Sabres G 18 1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins C 19 1985–86 Calgary Flames D 21 1986–87 Los Angeles Kings LW 20 1987–88 Calgary Flames C 21 1988–89 New York Rangers D 20 1989–90 Calgary Flames RW 31 1990–91 Chicago Blackhawks G 25 1991–92 Vancouver Canucks RW 20 1992–93 Winnipeg Jets RW 22 1993–94 New Jersey Devils G 21 1994–95 Quebec Nordiques C 21 1995–96 Ottawa Senators RW 22 1996–97 New York Islanders D 19 1997–98 Boston Bruins LW 19 1998–99 Colorado Avalanche C 22 1999–2000 New Jersey Devils C 19 2000–01 San Jose Sharks G 25 2001–02 Atlanta Thrashers RW 20 2002–03 St. Louis Blues D 21 2003–04 Boston Bruins G 23 2004–05 2005–06 Washington Capitals LW 20 2006–07 Pittsburgh Penguins C 20 2007–08 Chicago Blackhawks RW 19 2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets G 21 2009–10 Buffalo Sabres D 20 2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes C 19 2011–12 Colorado Avalanche LW 19 2012–13 Florida Panthers LW 19 2013–14 Colorado Avalanche C 18 2014–15 Florida Panthers D 19 2015–16 Chicago Blackhawks LW 24 2016–17 Toronto Maple Leafs C 19 2017–18 New York Islanders C 21 2018–19 Vancouver Canucks C 20 2019–20 Colorado Avalanche D 21 2020–21 Minnesota Wild LW 24 2021–22 Detroit Red Wings D 21 2022–23 Seattle Kraken C 20 2023–24 Chicago Blackhawks C 18 2024–25 Montreal Canadiens D 21 2025–26 New York Islanders D 18

See also List of National Hockey League awards List of NHL players List of NHL statistical leaders

Notes

References

External links Calder Trophy history at NHL.com Calder Trophy profile at Legends of Hockey.net