The Calder Trophy: Hits and Misses

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The Calder Trophy is annually awarded to the NHL's rookie of the year. Sometimes, the rookie that receives the reward becomes a superstar. Sometimes the player proves to be a bust, and sometimes the NHL's greatest players are left off of the Calder Trophy. The list we are going to include will be divided into the categories of Superstars, Busts, and Best Not to Win.

Superstars: The best players ever to win the Calder Trophy
10: Ken Dryden-A lifelong Montreal Canadien, Dryden posted a career 258-57 record and had a GAA of 1.65 in an undefeated 1970-71 season.
9: Ray Borque-A five-time Norris Trophy winner, Borque played in 21 seasons and scored a total of 1,579 points.
8: Alexander Ovechkin-In 12 NHL seasons Ovechkin has won the Rocket Richard trophy for most goals in the NHL six times.
7: Patrick Kane-A three-time Stanley Cup Champion, Kane piled up 72 points in his rookie season. He put up a career-best 106 points in 2015-16, the year he won the MVP trophy.
6: Mike Bossy-Had 91 points in his rookie year, and was fourth place in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy
5: Glenn Hall-Recorded 12 shutouts in his Calder-trophy winning year, finished his 18-year career with 84.
4: Tony Esposito-Won the Calder Trophy with a 38-17-8 record, finished is career with 423 wins.
3: Martin Brodeur-Posted a .915 save percentage in his Calder trophy year, is the all-time winnigest goalie in NHL history.
2: Bobby Orr-Had 41 points in rookie year, and was an eight-time Norris trophy winner, scored the famous 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal.
1: Mario Lemuieux-Put up an unreal 199 points in a single season, and was a six-time MVP winner.

Busts: The worst players to win the Calder Trophy.
5: Derek Sanderson-Career-best in point scoring was 67.
4: Jonathan Huberdau-Still developing, but has been for five years and has never put up elite numbers.
3: Tyler Myers-Point production has only gone down since his 2009-10 Calder win.
2: Barret Jackman-Never did anything significant during his career except for racking up 190 penalty minutes in 2002-03.
1: Brit Selby-Has a career record of 55-62 in the NHL.

Best Not to Win: Best players never to win the Calder.
10: Doug Harvey-The Hall of Famer was a six-time Stanley Cup Champion and seven-time Norris.
9: Pierre Pilote-Won the Norris three times and tallied over 400 assists during his career.
8: Bobby Hull-The "Golden Jet" lead the Blackhawks to the 1961 Stanley Cup and once tallied 107 points in a single season.
7: Chris Chelios-Chelios ended up finishing second to some guy called Mario Lemuix. He also ended up winning three Stanley Cups to match three Norris trophies.
6: Bernie Parent-Parent ended up winning two Vezina trophies for best goaltender, two Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe trophies for playoff MVP along with two All-Star trips and a Hall of Fame induction.
5: Nicklas Lidstrom-Lidstrom, who finished second to Pavel Bure, went on to spend his entire career with the Red Wings, winning seven Norris trophies and four Stanley Cups.
4: Sidney Crosby-Crosby was runner-up to Alex Ovechkin in Calder Trophy, but the difference between the two is Crosby's two cups (possibly three, although his Penguins trail in the Eastern Conference Finals 1-0 as of now), as well as his Conn Smythe Trophy.
3: Mark Messier-Messier never won this award but now has his name to the Mark Messier leadership award, along with leading his teams to six Stanley Cups.
2: Gordie Howe-The Hall of Famer is one of the greatest to ever play the game, playing in 21 All-Star games, winning the Art Ross and Hart six times each and winning the Stanley Cup four times.
1: Wayne Gretzky-Gretzky was never eligible for the award because of his years spent in the WHA before it and the NHL merged, but is without a doubt the NHL's best ever. Wayne Gretzky won the Hart nine times, the Art Ross ten times, and put up over 200 points four times in his career.

So there you have it. The Calder Trophy is a prestigious award and it can either mean something or mean nothing. Time will only tell what this year's Calder winner will do.

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