The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
. It was first presented in
1937 to the
Syracuse Stars.
The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian
mahogany. In its current shape, the trophy has a two-tiered square base with commemorative plaques for each of the AHL's 20 most recent champions: 12 on the bottom tier and 8 on the top tier. Each time a new championship plaque is added, the oldest plaque is retired and joins a display at the
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
The
Hershey Bears have won the Cup more times than any other team, with eleven victories in franchise history. The
Cleveland Barons come in second with nine; the
Springfield Indians/Kings are third with seven. Eight teams have won back-to-back championships; the
Springfield Indians of 1960–62 are the only team to have won three straight Calder Cup championships.
On three occasions an AHL club has won the Calder Cup coincidentally with its NHL affiliate winning the Stanley Cup: in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
and
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
when the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
and their AHL affiliate, the
Nova Scotia Voyageurs
The Nova Scotia Voyageurs were a professional ice hockey team, based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They played in the American Hockey League, from 1971 to 1984. Originally chartered as the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League, the org ...
both won, and in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
, when the
New Jersey Devils and
Albany River Rats both won.
The Calder Cup was not awarded in 2020 and 2021 as the AHL did not hold a playoff due to effects of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
History
The trophy is named after
Frank Calder
Frank Sellick Calder (November 17, 1877 – February 4, 1943) was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
Calder was the first president of the National Hockey League (NHL), from 1917 until his death in 1943. He ...
, who was the first president of the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
.
The
Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the Rookie of the Year in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
, was also named after Calder.
As a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, the
2019–20 AHL season was cancelled and the Calder Cup was not awarded in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
. Previously, it had been the oldest continuously awarded professional ice hockey playoff trophy, having been presented annually from 1936–37 to 2018–19.
See also
*
List of Calder Cup champions
References
;Notes
;Citations
External links
Official AHL websiteOfficial Calder Cup websiteAHL Hall of Fame- at Internet Hockey Database
{{AHL
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