7 To Win The Calder Trophy And Calder Cup

There are two hockey awards named in honour of Frank Calder. The Calder Memorial Trophy has been given out to the National Hockey League’s top rookie since 1932-33. The Calder Cup has been the prize for the American Hockey League’s playoff champion since 1936-37. Calder was the president of the NHL from it’s first year in 1917-18 until his death in 1943.

The first winner of the Calder Trophy was Carl Voss who split his season between the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings. Voss had NHL experience as far back as 1926-27 but never played enough games to take away his rookie eligibility. The first winner of the Calder Cup in the AHL was the Syracuse Stars.

So, the question is, have any players won both awards? The answer is yes. There have been seven players to date that have won both the Calder Trophy and Calder Cup. Howie Meeker is sort of an eighth, winning the Calder Trophy then winning the Calder Cup in his first year as head coach.

Four of the seven won the Cup before they won the Trophy. Three of the seven were goalies. Two of the seven are in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Mike Karakas

Karakas won the Calder Trophy in 1935-36, playing net for the Chicago Blackhawks. Mike appeared in all 48 regular season games for Chicago, posting a 1.85 goals against average and nine shutouts. Chicago had the second lowest goals against in the eight team NHL, behind just the Boston Bruins. The Hawks finished third of four in the American Division and fell to the New York Americans in the quarter-finals.

In 1939-40, Karakas split his season between the Blackhawks and the Providence Reds of the AHL. Spending the last half of the season with the Reds, Mike played all eight games for the team in the playoffs. In the semi-finals, Providence beat the Indianapolis Capitals. In the finals, the Reds swept the Pittsburgh Hornets for the championship.

Mike played pro hockey from 1929-30 to 1947-48 in the CHL, AHA, NHL and AHL. He played 336 games in the NHL between 1935-36 and 1945-46 with the Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens. Over that time, Karakas recorded 28 shutouts and a 2.92 GAA. In 1937-38, Mike played eight of ten playoff games for Chicago as they captured the Stanley Cup championship.

[subscribe2]

Frank Brimsek

Brimsek was awarded the Calder Trophy in 1938-39, appearing in 43 of 48 games between the pipes for the Boston Bruins. His numbers were amazing with a 1.56 GAA and ten shutouts. He was also awarded the Vezina Trophy that season. Boston finished first overall in the seven team NHL and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the finals for the Stanley Cup championship. Added to all that, Brimsek was named the 1st Team All-Star goalie.

It was just a continuation of the success Frank experienced the year before in 1937-38 with the Providence Reds. He appeared in all of the team’s 48 regular season games, posting a 1.79 GAA and five shutouts. He played in all of Providence’s seven playoff games with the Reds capturing the Calder Cup with a win over the Syracuse Stars in the finals.

Brimsek played pro hockey from 1934-35 to 1949-50 in the AHL and NHL. In the NHL, Frank appeared in 514 regular season games, recording 40 shutouts and posting a 2.70 GAA while playing with the Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks. In 1966, Frank Brimsek was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Terry Sawchuk

Sawchuk won his Calder Trophy in 1950-51 with the Detroit Red Wings. He appeared in all of Detroit’s 70 regular season games, putting up a 1.99 GAA and eleven shutouts while helping the Red Wings to a first overall finish. However, mighty Detroit was upset by the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round of the playoffs. Terry was named the 1st Team All-Star goalie.

The year before, Sawchuk was mainly with the Indianapolis Capitals of the AHL while appearing in seven games with Detroit. In the Calder Cup playoffs, Terry played all eight games for the Capitals as the team swept their way to a championship. Indy knocked off both the St. Louis Flyers and Providence Reds in two game sweeps before sweeping the Cleveland Barons in four in the finals.

Terry played 971 games in the NHL between 1949-50 and 1969-70. His 103 shutouts was a record that was just recently erased by Martin Brodeur. Sawchuk also posted a 2.52 career GAA while playing for the Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.

Sawchuk has his name on the Stanley Cup four times, three with Detroit and one with Toronto. In 1971, he was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after his tragic death at the end of the 1969-70 season.

Camille Henry

Camille the Eel won the Calder Trophy in 1953-54 with the New York Rangers. Over 66 games, he scored 24 and assisted on 15 for 39 points on a not-so-good Rangers team. His goal total placed him sixth in the NHL. New York finished fifth of six and did not qualify for the post season. Despite the award, Henry would not play full-time in the NHL again until the 1957-58 season.

Henry played for the Providence Reds two years later, in 1955-56. He led the AHL wit 50 goals and was third in the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy with 91 points. Camille helped the Reds to a first overall finish then exploded in the playoffs with ten goals and six assists over nine games. The Reds swept the Cleveland Barons in the finals, 4-0, for the championship. Providence outscored the Barons 23-8 on the series.

Camille Henry played 727 games in the NHL between 1953-54 and 1969-70 with the Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues. He played an additional 47 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding 18 points.

Ed Litzenberger

Another player to split his Calder Trophy season between two teams, Litzenberger won the award in 1954-55. His first 29 games of the season were with the Montreal Canadiens. He was traded to the Blackhawks for cash on December 10, 1954. With Chicago, Ed played 44 games.

Interestingly, teams at the time played a 70 game regular season schedule. Litzenberger totalled 73 games in 1954-55, scoring 23 and assisting on 28 for 51 points. His goal total placed him ninth in the NHL. Chicago was dreadful, winning just 13 games and finishing in last place. As for the team that traded him away, the Habs finished second and lost in the finals to Detroit.

Litzenberger won the Calder Cup in consecutive seasons with the Rochester Americans. In 1964-65, the Amerks were first overall in the nine team AHL. Ed’s 61 assists placed him third in the league while his 86 points put him in seventh. Rochester beat the Hershey Bears in the finals, four games to one.

The following year, Litzenberger split his season between the Victoria Maple Leafs of the WHL and the Americans. He played 23 games for Victoria and 47 for Rochester. The Amerks fell to second place but took out the Cleveland Barons in six games in the Calder Cup finals.

Litzenberger played 618 regular season games in the NHL between 1952-53 and 1963-64 with the Canadiens, Blackhawk and Maple Leafs, scoring 178 and assisting on 238 for 416 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he played 40 more games, adding 18 points. Ed was part of four consecutive Stanley Cup champions. He won with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1960-61 then as traded to the Maple Leafs in time to win three straight.

Kent Douglas

Douglas the defenseman won the Calder Trophy in 1962-63 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played in all of Toronto’s 70 regular season games and added 22 points from the blue line. Toronto finished first overall and Kent added two points over ten playoff games as the Maple Leafs captured the Stanley Cup with a win over Detroit in the finals. Before his breakout season, Douglas had spent five years in the minors after graduating from junior.

In the previous three seasons, Douglas was a member of the Springfield Indians team that powered their way to three consecutive Calder Cup wins. In the final year of the three, Kent was awarded the Eddie Shore Award as the AHL’s top D-man. That Springfield was stacked with players like Bill Sweeney, Brian Kilrea, Floyd Smith, Bob McCord, Don Cherry and Marcel Paille. It was said that those Indians teams could have competed in the NHL.

Kent played pro hockey from 1957-58 to 1975-76 in the AHL, WHL, NHL, CPHL, EHL, WHA and IHL. In 1974-75, he won one more championship, this time in the IHL with the Toledo Goaldiggers. Toledo beat the Saginaw Gears in the finals. The series went the full seven games and each team scored 35 total goals.

In the NHL, Douglas played 428 regular season games between 1962-63 and 1968-69 with the Maple Leafs, Red Wings and Oakland Seals. He scored 33 and assisted on 115 for 148 points while adding four points over 19 Stanley Cup playoff games.

Steve Larmer

Larmer won the Calder Trophy in 1982-83 with the Chicago Blackhawks. Steve appeared in 80 games, scoring 43 and assisting on 47 for 90 points. Those numbers would put him close to the lead in today’s NHL but didn’t even put him in the top ten back in the Gretzky days.

The Orval Tessier coached Blackhawks finished first in the Norris Division and fourth overall in the NHL. Chicago reached the semi-finals before being swept by the Edmonton Oilers. In the playoffs, Larmer added 12 points over 11 games.

The year before, Steve was a member of the Calder Cup champion New Brunswick Hawks. The team was also coached by Orval Tessier and Larmer excelled in his first year of pro hockey with 38 goals and 44 assists for 82 points over 74 regular season games. He finished sixth in the AHL for goals and tenth for points. The Hawks took out the Binghamton Whalers in the finals.

Larmer played pro from 1981-82 to 1994-95 in the NHL and AHL. Steve appeared in 1,006 regular season NHL games, scoring 441 and assisting on 571 for 1,012 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Larmer played a decent 140 games, adding 131 points. He was a member of the 1993-94 Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers.

Howie Meeker

He sort of belongs but doesn’t. Meeker won the Calder Trophy in 1946-47 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Over 55 games, he scored 27 and assisted on 18 for 45 points. He was third on the team in points, behind Ted Kennedy and Syl Apps. His 27 goals tied him for sixth in the NHL. Howie was also tenth in the league with 76 penalty minutes. The Leafs won the Stanley Cup that year, beating the Montreal Canadiens in the finals. Meeker helped out with six points over eleven games.

In 1954-55 after injuries put an end to Meeker’s playing career, he was behind the bench of the Pittsburgh Hornets. The team finished first for the regular season and beat the Buffalo Bisons in the finals for the Calder Cup.

Meeker played 346 regular season games in the NHL between 1946-47 and 1953-54, all with Toronto. During that injury shortened career, Howie got his name on the Stanley Cup three times.