Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
The Richard Trophy on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame
SportIce hockey
Awarded forNational Hockey League's top goal scorer
History
First award1998–99 NHL season
Most winsAlexander Ovechkin (9)
Most recentAuston Matthews (3)
Toronto Maple Leafs

The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, also known as the Rocket Richard Trophy,[1] is awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in the National Hockey League (NHL). It was donated to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens in 1998–99 and is named in honour of legendary Montreal Canadiens right winger Maurice "Rocket" Richard. First won by Teemu Selanne, it is currently held by Auston Matthews, who scored 69 goals during the 2023–24 NHL season.

History

Teemu Selanne, inaugural winner of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy

The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy was donated by the Montreal Canadiens to the NHL in 1999, and was first awarded at the end of the 1998–99 season. It is one of the newest of the NHL's trophies and is named in honour of the legendary right winger Maurice "Rocket" Richard, who spent his eighteen-season career with the Canadiens. He led the NHL in goal scoring five times and was the first NHL player to reach the 500-goal milestone. In 1944–45, Richard became the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, doing so in just 50 games, the latter feat achieved by only four other players since then. However, Richard never finished higher than second in points, his closest miss coming in 1954–55, when he finished one point behind teammate Bernie Geoffrion.[2]

The winner of the Art Ross Trophy, given to the NHL's leading points scorer, often also wins the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player. In contrast, along with McDavid in 2022–23, only Auston Matthews, Alexander Ovechkin and Corey Perry have won both the Richard and the Hart trophies in the same season; Ovechkin has accomplished this three times, in 2007–08, 2008–09, and 2012–13. Eleven players won the Hart in the same season in which they led the league in goals before the Richard Trophy was first awarded.[3] McDavid and Ovechkin are the only two player to have won the Hart, Rocket Richard, Art Ross and Ted Lindsay trophy in the same season.

Unlike the Art Ross Trophy, there are no tiebreakers for the Richard Trophy. As a result, it is possible for several players to share the award, such as when the 2003–04 season featured a three-way tie between 41-goal scorers Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Rick Nash. The second time there was a tie for this award was in the 2009–10 season, when both Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals each to win this award. In the shortened 2019–20 season, there was a tie between Ovechkin and David Pastrnak, though Ovechkin played in two fewer games than Pastrnak. Rick Nash is the youngest player to have won the trophy, being 19 years old upon receipt.

Auston Matthews (third Richard Trophy in 2023–24) and Alexander Ovechkin (ninth Richard Trophy in 2019–20) are the only players to have won the trophy at least three times. Only four other players (Pavel Bure, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, and Steven Stamkos, with two trophies each) have won it more than once.

Winners

Alexander Ovechkin, nine-time winner
Pavel Bure, two-time winner, the first repeat winner
Sidney Crosby, two-time winner
Jarome Iginla, two-time winner
Steven Stamkos, two-time winner
Auston Matthews, three-time winner
Key
  Player is still active
  Eligible player not yet elected to Hockey Hall of Fame
  Inactive player not yet eligible for the Hockey Hall of Fame
Season Winner Team Goals Games Win #
1998–99 Teemu Selänne Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 47 75 1 (3)
1999–2000 Pavel Bure Florida Panthers 58 74 1 (2)
2000–01 Pavel Bure Florida Panthers 59 82 2 (3)
2001–02 Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 52 82 1
2002–03 Milan Hejduk Colorado Avalanche 50 82 1
2003–04 Rick Nash Columbus Blue Jackets 41 80 1
Ilya Kovalchuk Atlanta Thrashers 41 81 1
Jarome Iginla Calgary Flames 41 81 2
2004–05 Season cancelled due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout
2005–06 Jonathan Cheechoo San Jose Sharks 56 82 1
2006–07 Vincent Lecavalier Tampa Bay Lightning 52 82 1
2007–08 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 65 82 1
2008–09 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 56 79 2
2009–10 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 51 81 1
Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay Lightning 51 82 1
2010–11 Corey Perry Anaheim Ducks 50 82 1
2011–12 Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay Lightning 60 82 2
2012–13* Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 32 48 3
2013–14 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 51 78 4
2014–15 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 53 81 5
2015–16 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 50 79 6
2016–17 Sidney Crosby Pittsburgh Penguins 44 75 2
2017–18 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 49 82 7
2018–19 Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 51 81 8
2019–20** Alexander Ovechkin Washington Capitals 48 68 9
David Pastrnak Boston Bruins 48 70 1
2020–21** Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs 41 52 1
2021–22 Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs 60 73 2
2022–23 Connor McDavid Edmonton Oilers 64 82 1
2023–24 Auston Matthews Toronto Maple Leafs 69 81 3

See also

References

General
  • Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy info at records.NHL.com
  • Maurice Richard Trophy winners at NHL.com
  • Dinger, Ralph (2004). National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Toronto: Dan Diamond. ISBN 0-920445-84-5.
Specific
  1. ^ "NHL Records". records.nhl.com. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy history". Legendsofhockey.net. Archived from the original on 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
  3. ^ "Hart Memorial Trophy history". NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-08-22.