The early NHL Calder Trophy race is tight at the top. James Hagens and Gavin McKenna are tied with 11 points each, and Jacob Fowler remains the main goalie in the mix after another Montreal Canadiens win.
Saturday’s completed slate moved several names. Anton Frondell scored twice in Boston, Hagens added an assist in overtime, Aydar Suniev scored in Calgary, and Fowler started Montreal’s 5-4 win over Pittsburgh. Here is the updated Calder Trophy tracker.
Table of Contents
Last night’s Calder results
October 31, 2026 · TD Garden · 1:00 PM EST
The Boston Bruins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 in overtime. Frondell scored twice for Chicago, including a power-play goal, and was named a top performer. Roman Kantserov assisted on Connor Bedard’s goal. Hagens assisted on Casey Mittelstadt’s tying goal, then Elias Lindholm won it in overtime for Boston.
October 31, 2026 · Little Caesars Arena · 1:00 PM EST
The St. Louis Blues beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4. Finnie scored a power-play goal for Detroit with assists from Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard dressed and did not hit the scoresheet.
October 31, 2026 · Scotiabank Saddledome
The Calgary Flames beat the Seattle Kraken 6-2. Suniev scored for Calgary. Later in the night, Calgary lost 5-2 at Colorado with Suniev dressed again.
October 31, 2026 · Bell Centre · 7:00 PM EST
Montreal beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-4. Fowler dressed and played in the win. Montreal allowed 29 shots and recorded 25 saves with a .862 team save percentage and 4 goals against. Pittsburgh outshot Montreal 29-27. The Canadiens’ win extended their streak to five and kept Fowler’s season line at 6 wins and 2 shutouts in the NHL leaders.
October 31, 2026 · Rogers Arena · 7:00 PM EST
The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-2. McKenna dressed and did not record a point. Toronto still moved to 8-6-2.
October 31, 2026 · SAP Center
The Ottawa Senators beat the San Jose Sharks 5-1. Ivar Stenberg dressed and did not score. Victor Eklund dressed in the New York Islanders’ 4-0 loss to Edmonton. Konsta Helenius dressed in Buffalo’s 3-2 win at Los Angeles. Trevor Connelly, Cole Hutson, and Porter Martone did not play.
- The Stat: Frondell scored 2 goals in Chicago’s OT loss at Boston; Fowler’s Montreal side won 5-4 on 25 saves against 29 shots.
1. James Hagens and Gavin McKenna
Hagens and McKenna are tied for the NHL rookie scoring lead at 11 points. Each has 5 goals and 6 assists in 14 games.
Hagens is doing it on the Atlantic’s top team. Boston is 10-4-1 with 21 points, a plus-19 goal differential, and a 6-1-0 home record. Saturday’s overtime win added another assist to his line and kept Boston first in the division. His recent goals against San Jose and St. Louis, plus the Mittelstadt helper, show both finishing and setup work in the top six.
McKenna is matching that total with the Leafs at 8-6-2 and 18 points. Three of his goals this season have come on the power play, including a two-goal night in Seattle where he also assisted Auston Matthews. He was held off the sheet in Vancouver, but the season totals still put him in a dead heat with Hagens for the Calder Trophy points lead.
- The Stat: Hagens and McKenna are tied at 11 points (5 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games.
2. Anton Frondell, Chicago Blackhawks
Frondell is the clearest riser after Saturday: 3 goals and 5 assists for 8 points in 13 games. His two-goal night in the 5-4 overtime loss at Boston, including a power-play finish, was the top skater performance among Calder names on the slate and earned him top-performer honors.
Chicago is only 4-9-1 with 9 points, so Frondell’s Calder Trophy case has to come from personal production. Sharing a roster with Kantserov helps the Blackhawks’ young attack look dangerous in stretches, and the Boston game showed Frondell can finish against a first-place Atlantic club. If he stacks another multi-point night soon, the gap to the 11-point leaders shrinks fast.
- The Stat: Frondell scored 2 goals at Boston and has 8 points in 13 games.
3. Trevor Connelly and Ivar Stenberg
Connelly has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points in 14 games with the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is 9-5-1 with 19 points and second in the Pacific. Connelly did not play Saturday. His season line still mixes power-play work and even-strength finishing, including a man-advantage goal against the Los Angeles Kings and helpers in wins such as Vegas’s 4-1 result over Ottawa.
Stenberg has 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in 15 games, the largest sample among the early leaders. San Jose is 7-7-1 with 15 points after Saturday’s 5-1 home loss to Ottawa. Stenberg’s six assists lead this forward group, and his goals have often come on the power play. The quiet night against Ottawa did not change the season math: he remains tied with Connelly just behind the 11-point leaders.
- The Stat: Connelly and Stenberg each have 9 points; Stenberg’s 6 assists lead the forward group.
4. Jacob Fowler, Montreal Canadiens
Fowler is still the goalie in the NHL Calder Trophy race. He has 6 wins and 2 shutouts in the league leaders. Montreal is 9-3-2 with 20 points, second in the Atlantic, and has won five straight.
Saturday was not a shutout night. In the 5-4 win over Pittsburgh, Montreal recorded 25 saves on 29 shots against (.862) and allowed 4 goals. Fowler dressed for that start and kept the streak alive in a one-goal game. The stronger recent tape is still the Western trip: a 46-save shutout in a 2-0 win at St. Louis, and 33 saves on 34 shots (.971) in a 2-1 win at Winnipeg.
Those road workloads are why Fowler stays in the conversation even when skaters hold the points lead. Montreal’s .714 points percentage also tops Boston’s .700, so the team-success half of his Calder case remains strong.
- The Stat: Fowler has 6 wins and 2 shutouts; Saturday’s Montreal win was 5-4 with 25 saves on 29 shots against.
5. Chase pack: Kantserov, Hutson, Brandsegg-Nygard
Kantserov has 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points in 13 games. He assisted Bedard on Saturday and still owns one of the best goal totals in the class. Hutson has 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 12 games for the Washington Capitals, who are 8-4-0 with 16 points. He did not play Saturday; his two-goal game at Nashville remains the defense highlight of the race.
Brandsegg-Nygard has 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 14 games. He was held off the sheet in Detroit’s loss to St. Louis. Martone has 6 points in 14 games for the Philadelphia Flyers. Suniev has 4 goals and 1 assist for 5 points in 11 games after scoring in Calgary’s win over Seattle. Helenius has 3 points in 13 games. Eklund has 5 points in 13 games.
- The Stat: Kantserov’s 5 goals lead this chase group; Brandsegg-Nygard matches Frondell at 8 points.
Standings context
Boston’s 10-4-1 lead in the Atlantic supports Hagens. Montreal’s 9-3-2 record and five-game streak support Fowler. Toronto’s 8-6-2 mark keeps McKenna in a middling Atlantic group with the same 11-point total as Hagens. Vegas at 9-5-1 helps Connelly more than San Jose’s 7-7-1 helps Stenberg. Detroit’s 6-5-3 record leaves Finnie and Brandsegg-Nygard in the middle of the pack. Chicago’s 4-9-1 hole is the hardest environment for Frondell and Kantserov. Washington’s 8-4-0 start still backs Hutson when he returns to the lineup.
The Calder Trophy order after Saturday: Hagens and McKenna tied at 11, Finnie at 10, Connelly and Stenberg at 9, Frondell and Brandsegg-Nygard at 8, then Fowler as the goalie case on a second-place Montreal team.
FAQs
Who is leading the NHL Calder Trophy race right now?
James Hagens and Gavin McKenna are tied for the rookie scoring lead at 11 points each (5 goals, 6 assists) in 14 games. Emmitt Finnie is next at 10 points, and Jacob Fowler leads the goalie side with 6 wins and 2 shutouts.
What did the top Calder rookies do last night?
Frondell scored twice in Chicago’s 5-4 OT loss at Boston. Hagens had an assist in that game. Finnie scored a power-play goal in Detroit’s 5-4 loss to St. Louis. Suniev scored in Calgary’s 6-2 win over Seattle. Fowler’s Montreal team beat Pittsburgh 5-4. McKenna and Stenberg dressed without recording a point.
How did Jacob Fowler play against Pittsburgh?
Montreal won 5-4. The Canadiens recorded 25 saves on 29 shots against (.862) and allowed 4 goals. Fowler dressed for the win, which extended Montreal’s streak to five and kept his leader-board line at 6 wins and 2 shutouts.
Who leads rookies in goals?
Emmitt Finnie leads this tracker with 6 goals. Roman Kantserov has 5. Hagens and McKenna each have 5 as well while leading the points race.
Is Anton Frondell back in the Calder Trophy mix?
Yes. He has 8 points in 13 games, and his two-goal night at Boston was the top skater performance among rookies on Saturday.
Which defenseman is in the Calder Trophy race?
Cole Hutson remains the main defense candidate with 7 points in 12 games for Washington, including a two-goal game at Nashville. He did not play Saturday.
Did Trevor Connelly play last night?
No. Connelly’s Vegas team was idle. He still has 9 points in 14 games and sits just behind the Hagens-McKenna tie.
How close is the NHL Calder Trophy scoring race?
Very close. Two players are tied at 11, Finnie is one point back at 10, and two more sit at 9. One multi-point night can change the order again.
