Best Bets to Win 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy

These are the best bets to win 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy. 

Key Points 

– The favorite to win the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy has won the award the last two seasons. 

– Each of the last three winners could win the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy. 

Best Bets to Win 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy 

If there is one award in the NHL that is totally objective, it is the 2023 Rocket Richard trophy. The award is given annually to the player who scores the most goals in the NHL during the regular season.  

Score the most goals in a season…win the award. It’s that simple. There is no voting and no other criteria to consider.  

Last season, Toronto’s Auston Matthews put together a season to remember. He torched opponents for 60 goals to take home the trophy last year. It’s no surprise that he is the betting favorite once again to capture the 2023 Rocket Richard trophy. 

Could another NHL star overtake Matthews? Here’s a look at the race for this year’s top NHL goal-scorer. Be sure to use multiple sportsbooks to shop for the best lines in this market. 

2023 Rocket Richard Trophy Favorite - Matthews 

Matthews has finished third, first, and first in the NHL in scoring over the past three seasons. He scored 41 goals in 52 games to lead the league during the shortened 2020-21 NHL season. Last year’s 60 goals were the most in a season since Steven Stamkos hit the same total in 2011-12. 

Since the 2019-20 NHL season, the Maple Leafs have the third-best Expected Goals For in 5-on-5 situations. They also have the eighth-best Expected Goals For on the power play over the same span. 

Matthews converts shots into goals at a 15.95 percent rate in 5-on-5 situations and 18.91 percent on the power play. After having led the NHL in goals the last two seasons, it’s easy to see why he is a +190 favorite to win it again. 

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Oilers the Top Contenders 

Matthews won last year’s Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player. In the two previous seasons, Edmonton forwards Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid won the award. 

Both are among the favorites to win the Hart Trophy again. Last year, Draisaitl finished second to Matthews in goals scored with 55. McDavid wound up seventh with 44, but was the NHL’s points leader with 123. The Oilers duo will undoubtedly have a huge effect on Edmonton’s point totals this season. 

In seven seasons in the NHL, McDavid has won two Hart Trophies and four NHL scoring titles. At +650 odds, McDavid is one of the top contenders for the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy. 

His postseason last year was one of the most prolific in history. The Oilers lost in the Western Conference final, but McDavid did play in 16 playoff games. He totaled 33 points and scored 10 goals.  

If you extrapolate that over an 82-game regular season, McDavid would score just over 51 goals. That would be a career best. The other thing to consider about McDavid is his shots per game and shooting percentage.  

In regular season play for his career, McDavid’s shooting percentage averages 15 percent. Last year, that number dipped to 14 percent after having been between 16 and 17.1 in the three years prior. If McDavid maintains his 3.925 shots per game average, a one percent increase in accuracy will give him another three to four goals. 

Draisaitl, who finished with 110 points last season, is slightly ahead of McDavid on the board at +600. He now has two seasons of 50 or more goals. 

Don’t Count Out “Great 8” 

Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin has won the NHL scoring title nine times. Between 2013 and 2020, the “Great 8” won the Rocket Richard Trophy seven times in eight seasons. He has not won a title since 2020, but he is considered to be one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time. 

Now 37 years old, Ovechkin finished fourth last season in the scoring race. He had his eighth season of scoring 50 or more goals. Ovechkin scored 50 times last season. 

You can check Ovechkin’s stats as well as get the best scores, lines, and odds to stay on top of the NHL scoring race all season long. 

He is the only other NHL player in the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy race given better than +1000 odds. Ovechkin is listed at +900. 

2023 Rocket Richard Trophy Longshot 

While this seems to be a race between Matthews and the Oilers duo, bettors looking for a solid value longshot can check out Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov. He finished tied for fifth in the league last year with 47 goals, three more than McDavid. 

Minnesota ranked second in the NHL in both Goals For and Finishing last season. Kaprizov’s shooting percentage last season was 16.6 percent. With a team that continues to improve, Kaprizov is the type of player that can score in the 50 to 55 goals range. If he does that, he’ll be right in the thick of the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy race. 

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Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor 

Connor has been on the radar since entering the NHL in 2016. He has scored at least 30 goals in four of his five NHL seasons. He tallied 26 in 2020-21, the season that was cut short by the pandemic.  

The Jets forward won last year’s Lady Byng Trophy and is considered one of the best pure goal scorers in the league. He finished tied with Kaprizov last season with 47 goals.  

The Jets have a strong roster and should compete for a playoff spot. Connor is another player that can hit the 50-goal plateau. With the caliber of players competing for the 2023 Rocket Richard Trophy, Connor may even have to go well over 50.