The front-runners for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL's top goal-scorer are coming into focus at the end of December. Here are the top candidates to win the honors.
This season's Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy race as the NHL's top goal-scorer is wide open – something that hasn't been said in the last few years.
There's no chase for 70 goals like Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews had last season, finishing with 69 goalies and winning the Rocket by 12 tallies. This year's winner might not even reach the 60-goal plateau, either. Goals leader Leon Draisaitl is on pace for 57, while Brayden Point missed some time but is on pace for 61 if he stays healthy. But it's a darn close race.
Let's look at the top six goal-scorers for the Rocket Richard so far this season and see how the race is shaping up. In reverse order:
T-6. Kyle Connor And Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Connor currently sits tied for sixth in the NHL, with 21 goals in 36 games. Connor's Jets teammate Mark Scheifele also has 21 goals, so one or both Winnipeg players could leap up the goal-scoring race and bring the Jets their first-ever Rocket Richard winner.
Connor is the likelier of the two to do so. His goal-scoring pace would give him 47 goals, tying his career high from 2021-22. He had 31 goals in 82 games in 2022-23 and 34 goals in 65 games in 2023-24.
Connor's improved his shooting percentage, which has and could continue to pay huge dividends for a Jets squad that's hungry to win.
5. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Reinhart has 22 goals in 36 games. That puts him on pace for 50 goals – seven fewer than he generated last year – but that still could be enough to claim the Rocket Richard Trophy.
Winning the Rocket Richard with 50 goals or fewer has happened before, but the last time it occurred in an 82-game season was 2018-19 when Alex Ovechkin finished with 49. In more recent seasons, aside from the COVID-shortened campaigns, the Rocket Richard winner logged 60 goals or more.
Reinhart has a nearly identical shooting percentage to last season, so he'll likely need to shoot more if he wants to win the Rocket Richard this season.
4. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
Point has played only 28 games this year, but he's already put up 22 goals, putting him on pace to generate 61 in 78 games. That would eclipse his current career high of 51 goals, which he set in 2022-23.
The 28-year-old is the Lightning's top center and one of the best all-around players in the game, so we can see him bringing the Rocket Richard Trophy to Tampa Bay for the third time in franchise history. Steven Stamkos won it for the first two times, including a 60-goal season in 2011-12 and a 51-goal season in 2009-10.
3. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs
With 23 goals in 35 games, Nylander is on track to post 53 tallies this season. That would be a big improvement on his 40-goal seasons in the last two years. With Auston Matthews struggling with his health, Nylander could finish the season leading the high-octane Maple Leafs in goal-scoring.
At 28 years old, Nylander is in his prime, and it would surprise no one if he ramped up his production to get to 55 or 60 goals. The Swedish star looks as confident as he's ever looked, and his speed and vision make him a constant threat to put the puck into the net. He's crucial to Toronto's success, but he doesn't seem to be affected by the pressure of playing in the fishbowl of Leafs Land.
2. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov also has 23 goals but missed one of Minnesota's 35 games. If the 27-year-old stays on his current pace, he'd set a new career-high 54 goals, seven more than his 47 in 2021-22.
Kaprizov has looked intent on leading the Wild to a successful regular season and a deep Stanley Cup playoff run. The best way he can lead is to finish plays and provide the Grade-A offense Minnesota has lacked in recent years.
Kaprizov's power-play numbers are down significantly, as he has just three goals with the man advantage. It's a huge drop from the 19 power-play goals he generated last season. If he can improve that production while staying a consistent, even-strength scorer, Kaprizov could beat out the rest of the field and claim his first Rocket Richard Trophy. He could be the fourth Russian Rocket Richard winner, with the others being Pavel Bure, Ilya Kovalchuk and Ovechkin.
1. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
Draisaitl currently leads all goal-scorers this season, with 24 goals in 34 games. The 29-year-old had a career-high 55 goals in 2021-22, but Draisaitl has been one of the NHL's best offensive juggernauts for quite some time, winning the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point-getter in 2019-20.
Draisaitl has the good fortune to be playing on the same team as superstar Connor McDavid, but don't kid yourself – Draisaitl would be a gigantic force on offense no matter what team he was playing on. The German leviathan is still testing his limits and proving to the hockey world he's got the tools to drive his team's offense. The only question now is whether he can outlast the rest of the Rocket Richard field and earn individual award honors for the second time in his dazzling career.
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