Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak is coming off a season to remember.
The Havirov, Czechnia native led the Bruins in points and goals and, on the international scene, took home gold in the IIHF World Championships. As a result, Pastrnak finds himself sitting with the second-best odds to claim the Rocket Richard Trophy as the NHL’s top goal scorer for the upcoming season.
With plus-550 odds, Pastrnak trails only Toronto Maple Leafs forward Austin Matthews, who has minus-115 odds, to take home the prestigious award. Behind Pastrnak, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild are tied for third at plus-750.
The favorable projection comes after a season in which Pastrnak finished fifth in the league with 47 goals for his third straight season in the 40-goal club.
What should help is that Pastrnak will likely have a new running mate feeding him the puck this season after the Bruins signed center Elias Lindholm to anchor their top line. However, the Bruins’ identity will still be rooted in their defense.
“I think the depth of our defense is the strength of our hockey club, and I wanted to continue to make sure we have those foundational pieces in place,” said Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. “I think this group, as a whole, we can tease a little more offense out of it.”
Boston will once again have to rely heavily on Pastrnak on offense next season, who finished the year third on the team and first for forwards with an average ice time of 19:55 per game. Even Sweeny himself sees the team relying more on defensive minded hockey instead of offensive shootouts.
“That might be the one single pushback I have on Monty and his comment,” Sweeney said. “You can win two one in those situations. You probably have to, more often than not. The margins are small. You look at the last three games of our series against Florida it wasn’t runaway hockey.”
As a result, Pastrnak will once again be the Bruins’ main offensive option heading into next season. The odds favor the 30-year-old, and bettors should, too. With limited offensive options and a focus on defense with limited goal scorers, Pastrnak makea perfectod case to bet on for the Rocket Richard trophy next season.
Still, Matthews has won three of the last four Rocket Richard trophies, which is second-most behind Washinton Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin’s nine.
Pastrnak won the award during the 2019-20 season and should be adding a second Rocket Richard to his trophy case next June.
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