Rocket Richard Trophy

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Maurice Richard spent his entire eighteen-season career with the Canadiens, leading the NHL in scoring five times and becoming the first player to reach the 500-goal milestone. In 1944–45, he scored 50 goals in just 50 games, a feat matched by only four others since then. Despite his dominance, Richard never finished higher than second in total points; his closest finish was one point behind teammate Bernie Geoffrion in 1954–55. The trophy was formally introduced at the end of the 1998–99 season to immortalize this specific scoring prowess. Unlike the Art Ross Trophy, there are no tiebreakers for the Richard Trophy, allowing multiple players to share the award if they finish with identical goal totals.

In Their Own Story

The history of the trophy includes rare ties that highlight its unique rules. In 2003–04, Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Rick Nash shared the award after each scoring 41 goals. The second tie occurred in 2009–10 when Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos both scored 51 goals. Even more notably, in the shortened 2019–20 season, Alexander Ovechkin and David Pastrnak tied for the lead, despite Ovechkin playing two fewer games than Pastrnak. Rick Nash holds the distinction of being the youngest winner at age 19. While many players have led the league in goals before the trophy existed, only Auston Matthews, Alexander Ovechkin, Corey Perry, and Connor McDavid have won both the Richard and Hart trophies in the same season since its inception.

Reader's Guide

Winning the Rocket Richard Trophy is a rare feat reserved for elite scorers. Auston Matthews, with his third win in 2023–24, and Alexander Ovechkin, with his ninth in 2019–20, are the only players to have won it at least three times. Pavel Bure, Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, and Steven Stamkos have each won it twice. Only two players, McDavid and Ovechkin, have captured the Hart, Rocket Richard, Art Ross, and Ted Lindsay trophies in a single season. Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin are also the only players to win both the Rocket Richard and the Stanley Cup in the same season since the award began, achieving this in 2016–17 and 2017–18 respectively.

Did You Know?

• Maurice Richard was the first NHL player to score 50 goals in a single season, achieving this in just 50 games during 1944–45.
• Rick Nash is the youngest player to ever win the trophy, receiving it at age 19.
• Alexander Ovechkin has won the Rocket Richard Trophy nine times, tied with Auston Matthews as one of only two players to win it three or more times.
• In the 2003–04 season, Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Rick Nash shared the award after a three-way tie at 41 goals each.
• Maurice Richard never finished higher than second in total points during his career, missing the top spot by just one point in 1954–55.