Auston Matthews cemented his status as the best goalscorer on Earth last season.
The preseason narrative: Matthews netted an otherworldly 69 goals en route to his third Rocket Richard trophy. The Toronto Maple Leafs' new captain will ultimately be judged on playoff success but he's still capable of putting up gaudy totals over what many fans view as a meaningless first 82 games.
Check out our Matthews NHL futures odds and analysis ahead of the 2024-25 season.
Matthews NHL futures odds
Click linked odds to add selection to your betslip. Note: Lines have changed/market no longer available if grey.
| Market | Odds |
| Over 57.5 goals | -112 |
| Under 57.5 goals | -112 |
| Over 100.5 points | -112 |
| Under 100.5 points | -112 |
| Rocket Richard Trophy winner | -112 |
| Frank J. Selke Trophy winner | +800 |
| Hart Trophy winner | +900 |
| Art Ross Trophy winner | +2,300 |
Check out our complete NHL betting markets.
The last player not named Matthews to score 65 goals was Alexander Ovechkin in 2008.
Before that? You're going way back to Mario Lemieux, who did it in 1996. So yeah, you could say the Leafs superstar has put himself in rarified air.
Everything broke Matthews' way last season but even with a 10-goal regression, he would top this 57.5 goal total.
There's also some concern that new head coach Craig Berube might place a heavier emphasis on defence this year, with Matthews playing more penalty-killing minutes.
But that shouldn't have a huge impact on his goal total.
You're not going to tell the best scorer in the world to stop shooting, and Matthews will still be the No. 1 threat on a power-play which is due for improvement.
In the points department, Matthews cracked 100 for just the second time in his career, netting 107 in 81 games.
Auston Matthews top futures bet
Best Bet: Matthews to win the Rocket Richard (-112)
Personally, I'm more keen on backing Matthews to win the Rocket Richard at -112 than to score 58 goals at -112.
Last season, three other players scored 50-plus goals — Sam Reinhart, Zach Hyman and Nathan MacKinnon. Reinhart and Hyman cleared their previous highs by 24 and 18 goals, respectively.
Those two are more likely to face regression than Matthews.
Matthews has logged five straight 40-plus goal seasons and is averaging 51.4 goals in that span. Keep in mind, he's missed games with injury and also scored 41 goals during a Covid-shortened season.
He's averaging 0.73 goals per game in that five-year span, which nets out to 55 goals if he plays 75 games next year (right around his average).
Players like Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Leon Draisaitl, and MacKinnon can all make noise but Matthews' floor makes me confident he'll win a fourth Rocket Richard.
Pick made at 12:30 p.m. on 10/01/24.
