Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy
| Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy | |
|---|---|
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| Established | 1998–99 NHL season |
| Current holder(s) | Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos |
| Awarded to the | National Hockey League's top goal scorer |
The Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, also known as the Maurice 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 hockey club in 1998–99 and is named in honour of the legendary Montreal Canadiens right winger Maurice "Rocket" Richard and was first won by Teemu Selänne. The Trophy has been awarded at the end of 11 seasons to 11 different players. Three players, Pavel Bure, Jarome Iginla, and Alexander Ovechkin have won the Trophy more than once, and there was a three way tie in 2004 between Ilya Kovalchuk, Rick Nash, and Jarome Iginla. The current holders are Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who both scored 51 goals during the 2009–10 season to earn their first Richard Trophies.
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History
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 only achieved by a handful of players since then. However, the scoring title eluded Richard, and the closest that he got to it was in 1954.[2]
Although the NHL's leading points scorer often wins the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP, only Alexander Ovechkin has won both the Richard and the Hart in the same season, and has done so twice, in 2007-08, and 2008-09. Eleven players both won the Hart in the same season in which they led the league in goals before the Richard Trophy was first awarded.[3]
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 Jarome Iginla, Ilya Kovalchuk and Rick Nash. The second time there was a tie for this award was in the 2009-2010 season when both Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals each to win this award. Rick Nash is the youngest player to have won the trophy, being 19 years old upon receipt. Pavel Bure, Jarome Iginla and Alexander Ovechkin are the only players to have won the trophy twice.
Of the 11 players to have won the trophy to date, six are Canadians and five are European-trained; no American-trained player has won the trophy. The last American-trained player to win a scoring title was Keith Tkachuk in the 1996–97 season, two years before the trophy was first awarded.
Winners
- Key
- (#) Not including leading goal scorers prior to the inception of the trophy
Player is still active
| Season | Winner | Team | Goals | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | Teemu Selanne | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | 47 | 1 |
| 1999–2000 | Pavel Bure | Florida Panthers | 58 | 1 |
| 2000–01 | Pavel Bure | Florida Panthers | 59 | 2 |
| 2001–02 | Jarome Iginla | Calgary Flames | 52 | 1 |
| 2002–03 | Milan Hejduk | Colorado Avalanche | 50 | 1 |
| 2003–04 | Jarome Iginla | Calgary Flames | 41 | 2 |
| 2003–04 | Ilya Kovalchuk | Atlanta Thrashers | 41 | 1 |
| 2003–04 | Rick Nash | Columbus Blue Jackets | 41 | 1 |
| 2004–05 | 2004–05 NHL lockout No winner |
- | - | - |
| 2005–06 | Jonathan Cheechoo | San Jose Sharks | 56 | 1 |
| 2006–07 | Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay Lightning | 52 | 1 |
| 2007–08 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | 65 | 1 |
| 2008–09 | Alexander Ovechkin | Washington Capitals | 56 | 2 |
| 2009–10 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh Penguins | 51 | 1 |
| 2009–10 | Steven Stamkos | Tampa Bay Lightning | 51 | 1 |
See also
- List of National Hockey League awards
- List of NHL players
- List of NHL statistical leaders
References
- General
- Maurice Richard Trophy at NHL.com
- Maurice Richard Trophy at Legends of Hockey.net
- Dinger, Ralph (2004). National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book. Toront: Dan Diamond. ISBN 0-920445-84-5.
- Specific
- ↑ "Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy history". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/trophies/richard.html. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy history". Legendsofhockey.net. http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/silver_splashrocketrichard.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-31.
- ↑ "Hart Memorial Trophy history". NHL.com. http://www.nhl.com/trophies/hart.html. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
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