Art Ross Trophy



The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 65 times to 27 players since its introduction in the 1947–48 NHL season. Ross is also known for his design of the official NHL puck, with slightly bevelled edges for better control.

The current holder is Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers.

History
The Art Ross Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1947 by Arthur Howey "Art" Ross, former General Manager and head coach of the Boston Bruins and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee as a player. Elmer Lach of the Montreal Canadiens was the winner of the first Art Ross Trophy, which was awarded at the conclusion of the season.

Players from the Pittsburgh Penguins have won the trophy 15 times (all within a 26-season span from to ); the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are tied for second, as players from those teams have won it nine times each, with players from the Edmonton Oilers winning eight times. Although Joe Thornton, winner from the season, started the season playing for the Boston Bruins, he finished with the San Jose Sharks and the award counts for the Sharks. Therefore, Boston Bruins have seven players winning the trophy, fifth overall.

From 1963 to 2001, Marcel Dionne and Bryan Trottier were the only single-time winners of the scoring title, while Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr had won it on multiple occasions. For two decades, from 1981 to 2001, only three players won the Art Ross Trophy: Gretzky, Lemieux, and Jagr. The streak ended when Jarome Iginla won the trophy in 2002.

Gretzky has won the trophy ten times, including seven consecutive, during his 20-year NHL career. Gordie Howe and Lemieux have each won it six times, while Esposito and Jagr each have five. Jagr, from the Czech Republic, has won the award the most times out of non-Canadians. Gretzky is the only player to win the trophy for more than one team, while Thornton is the only player to win it while playing for two different teams in one season. Stan Mikita is the only player in NHL history to win the Art Ross, Hart, and Lady Byng Trophies all in the same season, which he did twice ( and, with Chicago; Gretzky, Bobby Hull, and Martin St. Louis all won each of those awards at least once and won a combination of two of them in the same season, but never all three together). Orr is the only defenseman to win the scoring title, doing so in 1970 and 1975 with Boston, and in 1970 he became the first player to capture four individual awards in a single season as he won the Hart, Norris, and Conn Smythe Trophies that year as well.

In 2007, Sidney Crosby became the youngest player to win the Art Ross Trophy at age 19, and also became the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport. At almost twice Crosby's age, Martin St. Louis became the oldest player to capture the Art Ross at the age of 37, also having the longest gap between scoring titles (nine years). Henrik and Daniel Sedin are the only siblings to win the award, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Since 2001, only three players, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and St. Louis have won the award more than once: Crosby in 2007 and 2014, Malkin in 2009 and 2012, and St. Louis in 2004 and 2013.

The NHL rules stipulate three tiebreakers in case two or more players are tied in points:
 * 1) Player with most goals
 * 2) Player with fewer games played
 * 3) Player scoring first goal of the season

Scoring ties happened in the, , and seasons, all of them being decided by the first tiebreaker of scoring more goals. In those respective seasons, Hull won over Andy Bathgate, Dionne over Gretzky, and Jagr over Eric Lindros. The NHL's award to recognize the leading goal-scorer, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, does not have a tiebreaker, allowing multiple winners to be recognized in any one season.

Winners


{{legend|#CFECEC|Player is still active in the NHL|border=#AAAAAA}} Bold Player with the most points ever scored in a season.

General

 * Art Ross Trophy at NHL.com
 * Art Ross Trophy history at Legends of Hockey.net