Mid-Season NHL Awards Odds – “Rocket” Richard Trophy
Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard led the NHL in goals five times. He was the first player in league history to score 500 goals, and in 1944-45, he became the first player to tally 50 goals in 50 games.
In 1999, the Canadiens donated the “Rocket” Richard Trophy to the NHL and, in keeping with the Rocket’s legacy, it is annually awarded to the player who scores the most goals.
Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin has won the award four times, including each of the last two seasons. Ovechkin is the favorite to capture the trophy again this season, though he is facing a stiff challenge from Rick Nash, Tyler Seguin, Vladimir Tarasenko, and the last person other than “Ovie” to win the award, Steven Stamkos.
Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals) – Odds: 2/1
Ovechkin won the “Rocket” Richard Trophy with 65 goals in 2007-08 and 56 in 2008-09. He took home the trophy again in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, notching 32 tallies in 48 games, and then score 51 last season to lead the league once more.
This year, “The Great Eight” is tied for the goal scoring lead (33) with Nash. Nash’s Rangers have two games in hand on the Caps, but Ovechkin is heating up at the right time. He has 16 goals in 19 games since the start of 2015. Given his history, Ovie is 2/1 to win his fifth “Rocket” Richard Trophy.
Rick Nash (NY Rangers) – Odds: 3/1
Like Ovechkin, Nash has 33 goals on the year. But, as mentioned, he has a couple extra games to play, meaning he is likely to take over the goal scoring lead (on a per-game basis) any day.
Nash scored a career-high 41 goals in 2003-04, back when he was still with Columbus. While that number doesn’t necessarily pop in the modern NHL – when you’re talking about “Rocket” Richard contenders anyway – back then it was enough to earn him a share of the trophy.
Nash is also heating up at the right time, scoring nine goals in the past 11 games. Given his durability and consistency, the Rangers power forward is 3/1 to take home the hardware.
Steven Stamkos – Odds: 9/2
Two-time winner Steven Stamkos has 28 goals on the year, but has played in one more game than Ovechkin and four more than Nash. With the emergence of Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov in Tampa, the team isn’t as reliant on Stamkos for goals as it was last year. The result has been a dip in ice-time.
While Stamkos still leads all Tampa forwards in ice-time, it’s clear that coach Guy Boucher would like his superstar to stay a little more rested and a lot more healthy. (Stamkos missed significant time last year, including the Olympics, with a broken leg.) That said, Stamkos is capable of going off at any moment and, if he hits a hot streak down the stretch, he’ll be hard to keep up with.
Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars) – Odds: 8/1
Seguin is hoping to become the first Dallas Star to win the award. He is third in the league with 29 goals and has played one fewer game than Ovechkin. Dallas has work to be done if they want to make the playoff, which means Seguin – the team’s first line center – is going to played until he drops by coach Lindy Ruff, especially with the man-advantage. Though Seguin has never scored hit the 40 goal mark in his career, he set a new high of 37 last year and isn’t showing signs of slowing down this season. The relative youngster is 8-1 to win the trophy.
The Field – Odds: 5/1
The Field (meaning everybody else) is at 5-1. That includes the Blues’ Vladimir Tarasenko and San Jose’s Joe Pavelski, who are both tied with Stamkos at 28 goals. With 26 goals on the year, Chicago’s Patrick Kane is probably the only other candidate with a legitimate chance to win the award.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (Flickr: 00091427) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Dave Friedman has covered professional and college sports for two decades. From ESPN to the Associated Press, Regional Sports Networks, Metro Networks, and many local outlets, he has written about and broadcast major and minor events throughout the country.
