Voight
#winning
Regarding the Calder, I can at least see the argument for giving it to Makarov and Stastny. Both played in Communist states, and were technically amateur. While that was obviously a farce, on paper it was accurate, so there is at least a basis to give them the award.
However for the other European players, it is interesting that the NHL doesn't consider them professional leagues, despite them literally being so. But what is the NHL without massive inconsistencies in how it does things.
They may have been "amateurs" but everyone knows they were essentially pro athletes. Hence how in the 70s and 80s, many Eastern Bloc countries destroyed at the Olympics and World Championships (not just in hockey, and this was mainly the USSR) because their athletes were provided everything they need by the government to just tricky train all year long. They didn't have to worry about having a 9-5 job, paying a mortgage or feeding their kids as long as they trained & competed. Hence why FIBA and then the IIHF eventually allowed pro players to compete in the Olympics, it just wasn't fair anymore (plus the Iron Curtain had fallen, so that advantage wasn't the same anymore)
(don't get me wrong, I'm sure they would have traded their lives for those of us in the West 7 days a week & twice on Sundays)