First-time winner awaits Rocket Richard with Nylander, Scheifele chasing Draisaitl
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The Rocket Richard Trophy appears set to be awarded to a first-time winner this season, with Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl currently leading the race.
Entering play Wednesday, Draisaitl has a four-goal lead on Toronto Maple Leafs winger William Nylander, who recorded a hat trick on Tuesday against the Calgary Flames to boost his odds.
Draisaitl has 37 goals, ahead of Nylander at 33, with Mark Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets and Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart tied behind them at 31 goals. Scheifele's teammate Kyle Connor sits fifth in goals this season with 30.
After topping out at 40 goals in each of the past two seasons, Nylander is on pace to set a new career-high in goals with 51. Scoring in bunches, though, has been a rare feat for the 28-year-old.
"Obviously it's super special,” Nylander said after his three-goal outing against Calgary. “Born here and scoring my second career hat trick eight years after my first one is pretty wild.”
The Maple Leafs have grown used to having the Rocket Richard trophy in the building, with captain Auston Matthews winning the award in three of the past four seasons.
Oilers superstar Connor McDavid took home the trophy in 2023, with Draisaitl finishing second that season with 52 goals to McDavid's 64. Draisaitl was also second to Matthews in 2022 and second to Alex Ovechkin to 2019, when he finished just one goal short.
This season, the award appears to be Draisaitl's to lose with the 29-year-old German currently listed as a -400 favourite at FanDuel. Nylander is +850, followed by Scheifele at +1200, Reinhart at +1300 and Connor at +1800. Newly acquired Carolina Hurricanes winger Mikko Rantanen is next on the list at +4000, ahead of former winners Matthews and Ovechkin at +5000.
Rantanen has 26 goals with the Avalanche and Hurricanes this season, Ovechkin has 25 and Matthews has 20 goals, with both having missed time due to injury.
Draisaitl has an NHL-best .70 goals per game this season, just ahead of Ovechkin's .68 mark in 37 games, with Nylander tied for third with injured Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov (23 goals and 47 games) at .62 goals per game.
After Matthews posted 69 goals last season, the highest total since Mario Lemieux finished with the same number in 1996, the Rocket-clinching number is unsurprisingly set to fall back this season. Draisaitl is on pace for 57 goals, which would be his fourth-time reaching the 50-goal mark.
Can the Jets win a Rocket?
While Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has garnered most the headlines as he heads toward winning his second straight Vezina Trophy win (-2400 at FanDuel), Scheifele and Connor have a chance to give the franchise their first-ever Rocket winner.
The Jets are the only team with two 30-goal scorers this season, combining with Hellebuyck's strong play to put Winnipeg atop the NHL standings.
Scheifele is on pace for a career-best 46 goals this season, while Connor is on pace for 45 goals, just shy of his personal record of 47 in 2021-22. Buoyed by the two, the Jets have the NHL's best power play this season, operating at a success rate of 33.8 per cent. The Vegas Golden Knights have the second-best unit in the league, well back at a 28.5 per cent success rate.