The Florida Panthers have clinched the 2025 Stanley Cup, and the celebration has begun. However, the focus now turns to the next season, which means one thing: NHL futures. We’ll start by exploring the odds for the Rocket Richard trophy in 2026.
In the 2025 season, Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl took home his first Richard trophy, netting 52 goals. He’s the initial favorite to win the award next year at +320 on the DraftKings Sportsbook. Here’s the full list of the players with the best odds to win:
It feels like a very open field, with lots of great options up and down the board. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the best bets.
Auston Matthews: +400
Going into the 2025 season, Matthews had won three of the last four Rocket Richard trophies. His 69-goal performance in the 2023/24 season was the most since Mario Lemieux netted 69 in 1995/96. It was a surprise to see him regress to 33 in the past year, a good year, but not by his standards. Being tied for 26th in goals is not the ceiling Matthews is trying to reach for.
Matthews was playing through an injury last season, one he picked up in training camp. He doesn’t expect surgery this offseason and hopes to be healthy throughout the year. In my mind, that makes him a value play, even at the second-shortest odds. A healthy campaign with a shooting percentage over 15% gives him as good a chance as anyone.
Mikko Rantanen: +3000
After his high-profile exit from the Colorado Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen was excellent for the Dallas Stars. Despite the absence of Jason Robertson, he scored nine goals in 18 playoff games for Dallas. This team is set up extremely well for Rantanen to get back to his 50-goal ways.
Robertson and Matt Duchene are projected linemates for Rantanen next year. Those are two excellent assist men. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas’ top defenseman, moves the puck very well. There are other players Rantanen could see time with that would set him up plenty, like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. He’ll be the play-finisher on the power play and get tons of great looks with the depth of high-end offensive talent Dallas possesses.
Rantanen is only a few years removed from the 2022/23 season, where he placed third in the Rocket Richard race. If this Dallas team can mimic the elite scoring environment he had in Colorado, I love him as a long shot.
Cole Caufield: +7500
I love the potential for this Montreal Canadiens top unit. Nick Suzuki centers the line and recorded 59 assists this past season. Juraj Slafkovsky is on the left wing and has recorded 30+ assists in the past two seasons. Defenseman Lane Hutson, the Calder Trophy winner last season, recorded a whopping 60 assists from the blue line. All of this lines up for Cole Caufield, the right winger, who tickled the twine for 37 goals last season.
The diminutive goal-scorer has increased his goal total in all five NHL seasons. He’s on a collision course for his first 40-goal season sooner rather than later, but I think he can jump to 50+. The Canadiens’ core is extremely young: Suzuki is 25, Caufield is 24, and Slafkovsky and Hutson are each 20. They developed excellent chemistry last season and majorly improved their efficiency. It has the potential to be one of the best young top lines in the league.
It comes down to volume. Caufield’s shots on goal decreased from 314 to 239 over the past two seasons; despite that, his goals went from 28 to 37. If he can match that 15.5% shooting efficiency with 300+ shots on target, he’s approaching 50-goal territory. A further jump in efficiency could put him at the top of the league. He’s my favorite value on the board.
