The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champion of the American Hockey League (AHL). First awarded in the 1937–38 season, it is named after Frank Calder, first president of the National Hockey League. The Calder Cup is distinct from the Calder Memorial Trophy, which is awarded annually to the Rookie of the Year in the National Hockey League (NHL).[1]
Teams from 28 different cities have won the Calder Cup. The Hershey Bears have won 13 championships, the most of any team currently in the AHL, and have competed in 25 finals, and compiling a 13–12 record in their history. The defunct Cleveland Barons are second, with 9 total championships.[2]
On May 11, 2020, the AHL cancelled the remainder of the 2019–20 AHL season and the 2020 Calder Cup playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the first time that a Calder Cup champion was not awarded in the trophy's history.[3] It was likewise not awarded in 2021 as the league did not hold a playoff (even though the AHL did play a delayed and shortened regular season).[4]
The Most Valuable Player of the playoffs is awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy. It was first awarded in 1984 and is named after the former president of the AHL, Jack Butterfield. The trophy has been won by 35 different players, with none having won it more than once.[5] __TOC__
Note: All Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winners played for the winning team, unless otherwise noted.
| Season | Winning team | Series | Losing team | Jack A. Butterfield Trophy | Winning head coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936–37 | 3–1 | Philadelphia Ramblers | Not awarded | Eddie Powers | ||
| 1937–38 | 3–1 | Syracuse Stars | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| 3–1 | Philadelphia Ramblers | Bill Cook | ||||
| Providence Reds | 3–0 | Pittsburgh Hornets | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 3–2 | Hershey Bears | Bill Cook | |||
| 3–2 | Hershey Bears | Herb Lewis | ||||
| 3–0 | Indianapolis Capitals | Art Chapman | ||||
| Buffalo Bisons | 4–0 | Cleveland Barons | Art Chapman | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–2 | Hershey Bears | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Buffalo Bisons | 4–3 | Cleveland Barons | Frank Beisler | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Hornets | Don Penniston | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–0 | Buffalo Bisons | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Providence Reds | 4–3 | Hershey Bears | Terry Reardon | |||
| Indianapolis Capitals | 4–0 | Cleveland Barons | Ott Heller | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Hornets | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Pittsburgh Hornets | 4–2 | Providence Reds | King Clancy | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–3 | Pittsburgh Hornets | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–2 | Hershey Bears | Fred (Bun) Cook | |||
| Pittsburgh Hornets | 4–2 | Buffalo Bisons | Howie Meeker | |||
| Providence Reds | 4–0 | Cleveland Barons | John Crawford | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–1 | Rochester Americans | Jack Gordon | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Springfield Indians | Frank Mathers | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Buffalo Bisons | Frank Mathers | |||
| Springfield Indians | 4–1 | Rochester Americans | Pat Egan | |||
| Springfield Indians | 4–0 | Hershey Bears | Pat Egan | |||
| Springfield Indians | 4–1 | Buffalo Bisons | Pat Egan | |||
| Buffalo Bisons | 4–3 | Hershey Bears | Bill Reay | |||
| Cleveland Barons | 4–0 | Quebec Aces | Fred Glover | |||
| Rochester Americans | 4–1 | Hershey Bears | Joe Crozier | |||
| Rochester Americans | 4–2 | Cleveland Barons | Joe Crozier | |||
| Pittsburgh Hornets | 4–0 | Rochester Americans | Baz Bastien | |||
| Rochester Americans | 4–2 | Quebec Aces | Joe Crozier | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–1 | Quebec Aces | Frank Mathers | |||
| Buffalo Bisons | 4–0 | Springfield Kings | Fred Shero | |||
| Springfield Kings | 4–0 | Providence Reds | Johnny Wilson | |||
| 4–2 | Baltimore Clippers | Al MacNeil | ||||
| 4–1 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | Floyd Smith | ||||
| Hershey Bears | 4–1 | Providence Reds | Chuck Hamilton | |||
| Springfield Indians | 4–1 | New Haven Nighthawks | Ron Stewart | |||
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 4–1 | Hershey Bears | Al MacNeil | |||
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 4–2 | Rochester Americans | Al MacNeil | |||
| 4–1 | New Haven Nighthawks | Bob McCammon | ||||
| Maine Mariners | 4–0 | New Haven Nighthawks | Bob McCammon | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | New Brunswick Hawks | Doug Gibson | |||
| 4–2 | Maine Mariners | Tom Webster and J.P. LeBlanc (co-coaches) | ||||
| New Brunswick Hawks | 4–1 | Binghamton Whalers | Orval Tessier | |||
| Rochester Americans | 4–0 | Maine Mariners | Mike Keenan | |||
| Maine Mariners | 4–1 | Rochester Americans | Bud Stefanski | John Paddock | ||
| 4–2 | Brian Skrudland | Pierre Creamer | ||||
| Adirondack Red Wings | 4–2 | Hershey Bears | style=background:#ffbbbb | Tim Tookey | Bill Dineen | |
| Rochester Americans | 4–3 | David Fenyves | John Van Boxmeer | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–0 | Wendell Young | John Paddock | |||
| Adirondack Red Wings | 4–1 | New Haven Nighthawks | Sam St. Laurent | Bill Dineen | ||
| Springfield Indians | 4–2 | Rochester Americans | Jeff Hackett | Jim Roberts | ||
| Springfield Indians | 4–2 | Rochester Americans | Kay Whitmore | Jim Roberts | ||
| Adirondack Red Wings | 4–3 | Allan Bester | Barry Melrose | |||
| 4–1 | Rochester Americans | Bill McDougall | George Burnett | |||
| 4–2 | Olaf Kölzig | Barry Trotz | ||||
| 4–0 | Corey Schwab & Mike Dunham | Robbie Ftorek | ||||
| Rochester Americans | 4–3 | Portland Pirates | Dixon Ward | John Tortorella | ||
| Hershey Bears | 4–1 | Mike McHugh | Bob Hartley | |||
| 4–2 | Mike Maneluk | Bill Barber | ||||
| 4–1 | Rochester Americans | Peter Ferraro | Peter Laviolette | |||
| 4–2 | Rochester Americans | Derek Armstrong | John Paddock | |||
| Saint John Flames | 4–2 | Steve Begin | Jim Playfair | |||
| 4–1 | Pasi Nurminen | John Anderson | ||||
| 4–3 | Hamilton Bulldogs | Johan Holmqvist | Todd McLellan | |||
| 4–0 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | Wade Flaherty | Claude Noël | |||
| Philadelphia Phantoms | 4–0 | Chicago Wolves | Antero Niittymäki | John Stevens | ||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Milwaukee Admirals | Frederic Cassivi | Bruce Boudreau | ||
| Hamilton Bulldogs | 4–1 | Hershey Bears | Carey Price | Don Lever | ||
| Chicago Wolves | 4–2 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | Jason Krog | John Anderson | ||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Manitoba Moose | Michal Neuvirth | Bob Woods | ||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Texas Stars | Chris Bourque | Mark French | ||
| 4–2 | Houston Aeros | Robin Lehner | Kurt Kleinendorst | |||
| 4–0 | Alexandre Picard | Jon Cooper | ||||
| 4–2 | Tomáš Tatar | Jeff Blashill | ||||
| Texas Stars | 4–1 | Travis Morin | Willie Desjardins | |||
| 4–1 | Jordan Weal | Mike Stothers | ||||
| 4–0 | Hershey Bears | Oliver Bjorkstrand | Jared Bednar | |||
| 4–2 | Tyler Bertuzzi | Todd Nelson | ||||
| 4–3 | Andreas Johnsson | Sheldon Keefe | ||||
| 4–1 | Chicago Wolves | Andrew Poturalski | Mike Vellucci | |||
| No Calder Cup playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic[6] | ||||||
| No Calder Cup playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 4–1 | Josh Leivo | Ryan Warsofsky | ||||
| Hershey Bears | 4–3 | Hunter Shepard | Todd Nelson | |||
| Hershey Bears | 4–2 | Hendrix Lapierre | Todd Nelson | |||
A. Calder Cup won by second franchise known as the Pittsburgh Hornets. Previous franchise became the Rochester Americans.
B. Tim Tookey, Butterfield Trophy winner in 1985–86, played for the Hershey Bears, and is the only Butterfield Trophy winner to date to have played for a losing team in the Calder Cup finals.
Bold denotes an active AHL team
| Team | Championships | Runner Up | PCT. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hershey Bears | 13 | 12 | ||
| Cleveland Barons | 9 | 5 | ||
| Springfield Indians/Kings | 7 | 2 | ||
| Rochester Americans | 6 | 10 | ||
| Buffalo Bisons | 5 | 4 | ||
| Adirondack Red Wings | 4 | 0 | ||
| Providence Reds | 4 | 3 | ||
| Maine Mariners | 3 | 2 | ||
| Nova Scotia Voyageurs | 3 | 1 | ||
| Pittsburgh Hornets | 3 | 4 | ||
| Chicago Wolves | 3 | 2 | ||
| Grand Rapids Griffins | 2 | 0 | ||
| Indianapolis Capitals | 2 | 1 | ||
| Philadelphia Phantoms | 2 | 0 | ||
| Albany River Rats | 1 | 0 | ||
| Binghamton Senators | 1 | 0 | ||
| Cape Breton Oilers | 1 | 0 | ||
| Charlotte Checkers | 1 | 0 | ||
| Cincinnati Swords | 1 | 0 | ||
| Cleveland Monsters | 1 | 0 | ||
| Hamilton Bulldogs | 1 | 1 | ||
| Hartford Wolf Pack | 1 | 0 | ||
| Houston Aeros | 1 | 1 | ||
| Manchester Monarchs (Ontario Reign) | 1 | 0 | ||
| Milwaukee Admirals | 1 | 0 | ||
| New Brunswick Hawks | 1 | 1 | ||
| Norfolk Admirals | 1 | 0 | ||
| Portland Pirates | 1 | 1 | ||
| Providence Bruins | 1 | 0 | ||
| Saint John Flames | 1 | 1 | ||
| Sherbrooke Canadiens | 1 | 1 | ||
| Syracuse Stars | 1 | 1 | ||
| Texas Stars | 1 | 2 | ||
| Toronto Marlies | 1 | 1 | ||
| New Haven Nighthawks | 0 | 4 | ||
| Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | 0 | 3 | ||
| Philadelphia Ramblers | 0 | 2 | ||
| Quebec Aces | 0 | 3 | ||
| Syracuse Crunch | 0 | 2 | ||
| Baltimore Clippers | 0 | 1 | ||
| Binghamton Whalers | 0 | 1 | ||
| Bridgeport Islanders (Sound Tigers) | 0 | 1 | ||
| Coachella Valley Firebirds | 0 | 2 | ||
| Fredericton Canadiens | 0 | 1 | ||
| Manitoba Moose | 0 | 1 | ||
| Springfield Thunderbirds | 0 | 1 | ||
| Utica Comets | 0 | 1 |