It is ’round about this time that we should all raise a glass toward Springfield and give thanks for Ralph Slate and his Internet Hockey Database. On the day the computers all shut down, I won’t mourn the blog; I’ll only mourn Facebook a little; I’ll be saddened about e-mail. But losing the IHDB will slash at my heart.
Ralph has compiled an incredible amount of information, including dates on a huge number of playoff games. He’s missing 1984’s AHL playoff dates, but he has others dating all the way back to the AHL’s precursor, the International-American Hockey League.
And because of that, here’s the answer to Dawn’s question, with the asterisk on 1984: Days when the Stanley Cup and Calder Cup were awarded the same day.
June 12, 2009: Marc-Andre Fleury robs Nicklas Lidstrom just before the buzzer to preserve Pittsburgh’s 2-1 win in Game 7 at Detroit. In Winnipeg, Chris Bourque’s early goal-and-assist pace Hershey to a 4-1 win over Manitoba and a six-game series win.
April 25, 1964: Toronto wins the Cup at home in seven games against Detroit with a 4-0 win (the Bob Baun year); Cleveland completes a sweep of the Quebec Aces at home with a 5-2 win to win the Calder Cup.
April 20, 1958: Montreal beats Boston 5-3 on the road to win the series in six; Hershey wins 2-1 at Springfield to knock off the Indians in six.
April 16, 1953: Cleveland wins 1-0 at 6:23 of overtime in Game 7 to defeat the Pittsburgh Hornets. (The home team won all seven games.) Montreal defeated Boston at home at 1:22 of overtime to take the Stanley Cup in five.
April 12, 1938: The Chicago Black Hawks beat Toronto 4-1 at home, winning the Stanley Cup Final, 3 games to 1. Meanwhile at Syracuse, the Providence Reds defeat the defending champion Stars 4-1 to take the International-American Hockey League championship, 3-1.
Years when they were awarded one day apart (Edit, 2019: With an addition):
| Year | Stanley | Calder |
| 2016 | June 12 | June 11 |
| 2007 | June 6 | June 7 |
| 2004 | June 7 | June 6 |
| 1991 | May 25 | May 24 |
| 1981 | May 21 | May 20 |
| 1965 | May 1 | April 30 |
| 1961 | April 16 | April 15 |
| 1957 | April 16 | April 17 |
| 1949 | April 16 | April 17 |
The 1984 Stanley Cup Final ended May 19. Thanks to Jason Chaimovitch for the date of the last AHL game of 1983-84: May 16. So 1984 doesn’t count. And thanks to Stan for pointing out that it’s no longer 2008.