NHL Rocket Richard Trophy Odds: Auston Matthews Favored By Books

The 2024-25 Rocket Richard Trophy odds-on favorite is Auston Matthews at +140. Sportsbooks are giving the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper a 35% implied chance of winning his fourth NHL scoring title in five seasons. 

If you're looking for more value maybe look at the Edmonton Oilers' Zach Hyman at +2500. The former Leafs forward put up 54 goals last year after all.

NHL Rocket Richard Trophy Odds

Odds as of July 18

NHL Rocket Richard Trophy Odds Favorite: Auston Matthews

It's an easy call to make Matthews the favorite. Not only did he win the award by scoring a ridiculous 69 goals last season, but he's won it in three of the past four years. In the one year where he didn't win the scoring title he still scored 40 goals.

Since joining the league in 2016-17, Matthew leads the NHL in goals with 368. The next-best sniper is Alex Ovechkin at 328. 

Unlike most of his competitors for this award, Matthews does most of his scoring at 5on5. Since 16-17, Papi has scored 74.5% of his goals at 5on5. That's the second-best rate for the top 20 scorers in that period. Only Artemi Panarin is "better" at 74.8%.

POW PAPI! 💥 pic.twitter.com/LRQhKB9k9J

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 30, 2023

This means that Matthews's scoring isn't at the mercy of the other team taking a penalty. His prolific scoring is sustainable and repeatable.

Rocket Richard Trophy Value Picks

Looking for a bit more value on your Rocket Richard Trophy odds betting? Great here are a few picks with some longer odds.

Zach Hyman

Only one player had a better ixG at even strength than Auston Matthews last year; that was Zach Hyman. The Oilers' power forward had a 35.7 ixG in 23-24 and scored 39.

He was putting away the chances he created and then some. And there's no reason to think he'll slow down in 24-25. Hyman will still be attached to McDavid's hip at even strength. The two shared the ice for 958 of Hyman's 1,293 even-strength minutes (74%) last year. When playing with McDavid, sometimes standing in front of the net is all you need to do.

ZACH HYMAN OPENS THE SCORING IN GAME 3! 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ybiqQLrKNg

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 28, 2024

Kirill Kaprizov

No one was hotter down the stretch last year than Kirill the Thrill. Minnesota's star scored 26 goals in his final 28 games as he tried to will the Wild into the playoffs. Maybe we see Kaprizov challenge for the Rocket Richard Trophy if he can carry that motivation from puck drop on 24-25 to the end of the year.

If Kirill is going to challenge for the Rocket Richard he'll need to up his 5on5 scoring. Of the top 20 goalscorers in the league since 20-21, Kaprizov has the fifth-lowest 5on5 scoring share at 62.4%.

Maybe another year of NHL experience for Minnesota's young core of Boldy, Rossi and Faber will give Kirill the support he needs to up that goal-scoring production at 5on5. 

Last 10 Rocket Richard Winners

Can you say “domination”? Alex Ovechkin has absolutely dominated this award for the last decade, winning it five times out of a possible 10. The torch has seemingly been passed on to Austin Matthews who has won it three times over the last four seasons.

NHL Players that have won multiple Rocket Richard Trophies

Let’s keep in mind that the Rocket trophy has only been around in the NHL since 1999 – in its 24-year lifespan, Ovi has a 37.5% share of the trophy. It makes the rest of our player’s two-time wins look like small achievements, which they’re not. The dominance of Ovechkin’s goalscoring is going to be felt in the legacy of this award forever.

NHL teams with the most Rocket Richard Trophy winners

Ovechkin accounts for every single Washington Capitals win on this table. With Ovi’s career winding down, we should see other teams on this list climb the rankings eventually (keep an eye on the Leafs), but it’ll take a while for Washington’s pride to be broken.

NHL Teams that have never had a player win the Rocket Richard Trophy

As a newer award, these teams just haven’t had the chance to win yet, especially when Ovechkin and Matthews have been hogging it recently. With so many top-class goalscorers across the league, this competition will open up slowly but surely.

NHL Rocket Richard Trophy Betting Trends

Now that Ovechkin's slowing down a bit, we've got a bit more to analyze when it comes to the Rocket. Of course, this is a newer award with less data than the others, but regardless here are a few betting trends that should help you choose the NHL's top goalscorer for the upcoming season.