Who wins the Rocket Richard in 2021?

[LeafsNation75]

This question was asked on the NHL Twitter account, so between the players they mentioned who wins the Rocket Richard in 2021?

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[tstracuzza]

My money is on Leon. Zibanejad should be on the list too

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

OV has won 7 of the last 8 so there is no reason to choose anyone else.

 

[Canadienna]

OV has won 7 of the last 8 so there is no reason to choose anyone else.

So I struggled between OV and Matthews, ended up picking Matthews. Maybe I should have learned not to expect decline from OV over the last few years but I have to think eventually he just won't be able to keep it up.

So yeah, I picked Matthews, but wouldn't at all be surprised if OV won it again. There are other good choices as well, but Matthews and OV are the most pure shooters of the bunch.

 

[LeafsNation75]

OV has won 7 of the last 8 so there is no reason to choose anyone else.

Assuming all 82 games were played last season and neither Matthews, Ovechkin, and Pastrnak don't get hurt, do you think Ovechkin still wins it even though he shared it with Pastrnak or he doesn't win it all?

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Ovi until proven otherwise. I think he would've taken sole possession of the Rocket if the season wasn't cut short, he was the hottest player in the league at that point.

 

[danpantz]

Matthews or Ovi. Went Matthews for the Poll.

Sucks that Pasta is going to miss time and we won't get the race we had last season.

 

[Kaner9]

I vote OV until he at least doesn't win it one year counting.

 

[Regal]

Ovi until proven otherwise. I think he would've taken sole possession of the Rocket if the season wasn't cut short, he was the hottest player in the league at that point.

Eh, he had a crazy hot streak from game 47 to game 53 where he had 14 goals in 7 games, but then had a 5 game goalless streak and in all had 8 goals in the 15 games after the streak. I'm not sure if he was trending any better than Pasta or Matthews.

 

[TheGuiminator]

I’ll go with the obvious one : Ovechkin

The fact it’s a shortened season will likely help, considering his age

 

[Incognito]

I would not be surprised at all if Ovechkin won it again. However, I think Pastrnak and Matthews were slightly more efficient at goal scoring than he was last year. He still found a way to get the job, but there's some younger players that can keep pace with him now. It'll be an interesting race. The shorter season may increase Ovechkin's chances too.

 

[LeafsNation75]

I’ll go with the obvious one : Ovechkin

The fact it’s a shortened season will likely help, considering his age

Maybe this will help Matthews chances or it might not mean anything, however last season after 56 games he had already scored 40 goals.

 

[Man Bear Pig]

I'd never bet against Ovechkin when it comes to the rocket. I have Matthews right there with him though. I think it'll be close.

 

[VC]

Voted Matthews. Guessing it will be between him and Draisaitl though in a shorten season it is a little up in the air. More of a sprint than marathon.

 

[Syckle78]

Gotta go with Ovie until proven otherwise. AM is my pick for the next player not named Ovie to win a Richard this year or next.

 

[The Moose is Loose]

McDavid should be on here, I'm not saying he will win but its convincible that he could. Over the past 3 years only Ovi, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, and Matthews have more goals and with Pasta out of the race I think that moves McDavid into one of the favorites category.

Definitely more so than Aho, Eichel, Mackinnon

I want to say one of Matthews/Draisaitl win it but everytime I bet against Ovi I'm wrong so idk...

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Eh, he had a crazy hot streak from game 47 to game 53 where he had 14 goals in 7 games, but then had a 5 game goalless streak and in all had 8 goals in the 15 games after the streak. I'm not sure if he was trending any better than Pasta or Matthews.

The season ended in March, where Ovechkin scored 5 goals in 5 games.

He was well on his way to lock up the Rocket as he always does.

 

[LeafsNation75]

The season ended in March, where Ovechkin scored 5 goals in 5 games.

He was well on his way to lock up the Rocket as he always does.

Ovechkin could have very well won it by himself if all 82 games were played and no one would be shocked if that happened.

However since he shared it with Pastrnak with them scoring 48 goals and Matthews was right behind with 47 goals, it was not guaranteed 100% Ovechkin would have won it last season.

 

[McVespa99]

A short season should favour a player that specializes in pace so I'm going with....... AM

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Ovechkin could have very well won it by himself if all 82 games were played and no one would be shocked if that happened.

However since he shared it with Pastrnak with them scoring 48 goals and Matthews was right behind with 47 games, it was not guaranteed 100% Ovechkin would have won it last season.

Not 100% guaranteed of course, but I'd say 60-70% sure based on his history (no injuries, finishes the season strong every year).

 

[Ctrain2k]

Why is McDavid not an option?

 

[LeafsNation75]

Why is McDavid not an option?

Because his name was not mentioned in the tweet posted by the NHL asking this question.

However you can vote for him in the other category.

 

[Pyrophorus]

This is going to be a long thread.
I'll just say AM34 is a possibility.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Why is Zibanejad not an option?

Ovechkin until proven otherwise.

 

[LeafsNation75]

Why is Zibanejad not an option?

Like I told @Ctrain2k the NHL Twitter account did not included Zibanejad as one of the names listed on their tweet in the OP, so that's why I did not make him an option.

However if you wanted to vote for him he can be considered in the other category.