Calder Trophy

Vintage photos: Alex Semin takes picture of Alex Ovechkin in front of Calder Trophy

Alex Semin was a recent surprise guest at the Capitals-Penguins game on Thursday. The former Capital, who announced his retirement from hockey over the summer, got a big ovation from the crowd as a tribute video played above on the jumbotron.

Semin finished his career in Washington with the sixth most goals in franchise history (197) and remains the only Capitals player to hit the 40-goal mark in the Ovechkin era besides Ovi himself.

Semin’s appearance brought back memories for Capitals PA announcer Wes Johnson, who has been calling games for the team since they moved into Capital One Arena. Wes has seen a lot of great things during his time with the club, including a moment that happened around 16 years ago.

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By Ian Oland 4 months ago

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Vitek Vanecek finishes sixth in Calder Trophy voting after fantastic rookie season with Capitals

Vitek Vanecek’s breakout rookie season earned him votes in end-of-the-year voting for the Calder Trophy. Vanecek placed sixth, receiving three third-place votes, eight fourth-place votes, and 10 fifth-place votes for 49 total points. Vanecek finished third among rookie goaltenders, placing behind the Hurricanes’ Alex Nedeljkovic (third) and the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin (fifth).

The Capitals goaltender finished the season seventh overall in the NHL in wins and compiled a 21-10-4 record, a 2.69 goals against average, and a .908 save percentage. Vanecek got a bulk of the starts (36 of 56) after the presumptive starter Ilya Samsonov contracted coronavirus early in the season and backup Henrik Lundqvist had open-heart surgery in January due to a heart condition.

Vanecek was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month in January and opened the postseason as the team’s starter before getting hurt in Game One of the Capitals’ first round matchup against the Boston Bruins. Vanecek took advantage of the opportunity after spending the previous five seasons with the AHL Hershey Bears and ECHL South Caroline Stingrays,

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By Ian Oland 2 years ago

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Ilya Samsonov receives votes for Calder Trophy, All-Rookie Team

Cale Makar won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie on Monday. The Avalanche defenseman was a top-two selection on all 170 ballots, garnering 116 first-place votes and 54 for second. Makar scored 12 goals and had 50 points in 57 games. Quinn Hughes was runner up while Dominik Kubalik finished third.

Of interest to Capitals fans, Ilya Samsonov finished twelfth in total voting.

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By Ian Oland 3 years ago

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Did Alex Ovechkin Deserve the Calder Trophy in 05-06?

Editor’s note: Pat Holden has written about Caps hockey over at Brooks Laichyear since 2012. We’ve asked him to pitch in here at RMNB to smarten us up a bit. Please give Pat a warm welcome. Follow him on Twitter.

Alex Ovechkin won the Calder Trophy for NHL rookie of the year in 2006. That season, Ovechkin totaled 52 goals and 54 assist in 81 games. His 106 points is the 3rd highest total ever for a rookie.

But 2005-06 was also Sidney Crosby‘s rookie season. Crosby scored 39 goals and recorded 63 assists. According to Wikipedia, the only other time two rookies scored over 100 points in the same season was in 1992-93, when Teemu Selanne and Joe Juneau did it.

Voting for the Calder was not especially close. Ovechkin got 125 out of 129 first-place votes. He also received 4 second-place votes. Crosby got 4 first-place votes, 95 second-place votes, and a number of third- and fourth-place votes. Scoring 52 goals as a rookie is going to grab the attention of voters. Ovechkin’s highlight-reel goals and physical play were credited for helping him win the award nearly unanimously.

Advanced stats are more prevalent than ever before in the NHL, and are certainly more of a going concern than they were in the 2005-06 season. While many voters still pay them no mind, I want to take a look at how the Ovechkin’s and Crosby’s rookie seasons match-up from an advanced stats perspective.

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By Patrick Holden 9 years ago

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Calder Trophy Contenders At The Half-Way Point Of The Season

Semyon Varlamov is going to have to stop being injured, to actually contend for the Calder Trophy.

The Capitals’ Semyon Varlamov has been one of the better rookies in the NHL this season, and he’s certainly in the running to maybe take home the Calder Trophy. Several of the more highly touted rookies haven’t quite lived up to expectations, which leaves the field still wide open. By the nature of these kinds of awards, the winner tends to be the guy who played over his head the most and the longest. That means that the player who is on top now can easily regress and possibly even finish out of the top 10 at the en. Also, since it’s hard to compare players at different positions, the Goals Versus Threshold numbers that Behind The Net recently added are useful to put everyone on the same playing field. A little more than half-way through the season, here are some of the top contenders.

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By 13 years ago

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