Vitali Kravtsov #74 of the New York Rangers (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
For the last two seasons, the New York Rangers started the campaign with top candidates for the Calder Trophy. In 2019, Kaapo Kakko was expected to battle Jack Hughes for the honor while last season it was Alexis Lafrenière who was virtually handed the award before the season started.
We all know how that worked out. Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche took home the award in 2020 and it was Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild last season.
It’s not unusual for the preseason favorites to not live up to expectations, but for the prior three years, the prognosticators were right.