NHL Goal Leader Odds & Predictions 2025-26: Draisaitl Favored to Score Most Goals, Eichel Providing Value

After potting a league-high 52 goals last season, Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers opens the 2025-26 campaign atop the NHL goal leader odds and predictions to repeat as the Rocket Richard Trophy winner.

Oddsmakers project Draisaitl’s top challengers will be three-time NHL goal leader Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Kirill Kaprizov of the Minnesota Wild. However, we’re looking much further down the board for the best value on the NHL goal leader odds, making a case for darkhorse Tage Thompson and long shot Jack Eichel.

📊 NHL goal leader odds 2025-26

NHL goal leader odds updated live in real time; see the latest NHL odds for every game.

🏒 Who will score most NHL goals in 2025-26?

Check out all of our NHL picks entering the regular season.

Leon Draisaitl, C, Oilers (+310)

It’s not hard to make a case for Draisaitl as the favorite to lead the NHL in goals. He’s a four-time 50-goal man who took home this trophy last year, he plays a lot with perennial MVP candidate Connor McDavid, and his league-high 52 goals last year came despite missing 11 games due to injury.

The Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews is a close second to Draisaitl in the Rocket Richard Trophy odds (+340 at FanDuel), but Matthews is coming off a career-worst 33-goal campaign and will now be playing without favorite setup man Mitch Marner. Kirill Kaprizov (+550) is the only other sniper who pays less than 12:1, and he doesn’t have the luxury of playing with a linemate like McDavid.

Draisaitl to win the Rocket Richard certainly appears the most likely outcome, with his +310 betting odds at FanDuel implying a 24.4% probability that he leads the NHL in goals. A $10 bet would net $31 profit.

💰 Best bet to lead NHL in goals

Our NHL player prop odds tool shows the best odds for every market (including the Hart Trophy) across legal sportsbooks in your area.

Tage Thompson C, Sabres (+2200)

Thompson led the NHL in even-strength goals last year (37), but an even more encouraging stat is his production in the final three months. No player scored more goals after Jan. 20 than Thompson, who notched 25 goals in his last 36 games - a sizzling 0.69 goal-per-game pace.

So what was different down the stretch last year? Coach Lindy Ruff shifted Thompson to the wing, enabling him to focus more on the offensive end of the ice. We could see Ruff continue that strategy this year after seeing Thompson click well with playmaking center Josh Norris during the preseason.

A full season with Norris, who was acquired last March, should also help the Sabres’ powerplay vastly improve from its 23rd overall ranking a year ago. If Thompson can complement his even-strength production with more goals on the power play, that should make him a top contender for the Rocket Richard.

FanDuel’s +2200 odds on Thompson implies just a 4.35% chance that he leads the NHL in goals this year. I think his chances are much better than that, and the chance to profit $220 on a $10 bet makes it my favorite bet on the Rocket Richard Trophy board.

🎯 Long shot for NHL goal leader

Follow along with the rest of our NHL analysis for more futures picks.

Jack Eichel, C, Golden Knights (+10000)

Eichel is best known as a set-up man, but he’s also happy to shoot at the right opportunity, ranking fifth in the NHL in shots per game just two years ago. And there should be more opportunities to fire the puck if he’s paired with new Golden Knights playmaker Mitch Marner, something coach Bruce Cassidy has said he’s considering.

Marner helped Matthews score 60-plus in two of the last four years in Toronto, and he also helped John Tavares pot a career-high 47 in 2018-19. And even if Eichel and Marner don’t play together often at five-on-five, the duo should be lethal on the powerplay, where Eichel collected 34 of his 94 points last season.

To top things off, Eichel is coming off a 77-game campaign - the most games he’s played since his rookie season - to fuel hopes that his history of neck injuries is behind him. FanDuel’s +10000 odds on Eichel to lead the NHL in goals means a $10 wager could return a $1,000 jackpot on the Vegas sniper, a shot worth taking even at a 1% implied probability.