NY Islanders legend reveals how winning the Calder was very different 50 years ago

Fifty years ago, there were no surprise television reveals, no viral social media clips and certainly no appearances on national morning shows.

If you won the Calder Trophy, you got a letter in the mail.

That's what made the contrast between Matthew Schaefer and Bryan Trottier so fascinating in an exclusive interview by Andrew Gross in Newsday with the Islanders legend.

Last month, Schaefer was surprised on national television during an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America, where family members and close friends revealed he had won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year.

Trottier's experience in 1976 was a little different.

"I got a letter from the National Hockey League," Trottier told Gross. "We framed it. 'Congratulations, you won the Calder Trophy.' So that's how I found out was through the mail."

Different era. Same significance.

Sunday marked the 50th anniversary of Trottier winning the Calder while teammate Denis Potvin captured the Norris Trophy. Looking back, it was one of the first signs that the Islanders were building something special.

At the time, the franchise was only four years old. Four years later, it would begin a dynasty.

Trottier posted 95 points as a rookie, while Potvin established himself as the NHL's premier young defenseman. Yet neither player seemed focused on individual accomplishments.

"I think we were shyly enjoying it," Trottier told Newsday. "It wasn't about me, it was about our team."

That mentality became the foundation of the Islanders' dynasty years.

While Schaefer's Calder celebration looked vastly different than Trottier's, there are similarities beyond the trophy itself. Like Trottier and Potvin before him, Schaefer has arrived at a moment when the franchise is searching for its next championship core.

Fifty years ago, a Calder winner helped launch the greatest era in Islanders history.

No one knows whether Schaefer's story will end the same way.

But Islanders fans certainly have every reason to hope history is about to repeat itself.

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