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 71 times to 29 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 awarded the first Art Ross Trophy at the conclusion of the season.

Players from the Pittsburgh Penguins won the trophy 15 times and the Edmonton Oilers have won the trophy 14 times, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are tied for third with nine times each. 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 1951 to 2001, Jean Beliveau, Marcel Dionne, and Bryan Trottier were the only single-time winners of the scoring title, while Gordie Howe, Bernie Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr all 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 a record ten times, seven consecutively, during his 20-year NHL career. Gordie Howe, Lemieux and McDavid 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 as a non-Canadian. Patrick Kane is the only American-born player to win the trophy, doing so in 2016. 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 five players, Connor McDavid, Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, St. Louis and Nikita Kucherov have won the award more than once: Crosby in 2007 and 2014, Malkin in 2009 and 2012, St. Louis in 2004 and 2013, McDavid in 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2026 and Kucherov in 2019, 2024 and 2025. McDavid and Gretzky are the only players to win multiple Art Ross trophies before age 21.

The NHL rules stipulate three tiebreakers in case two or more players are tied in points: Player with most goals Player with fewer games played 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

Bold Player with the most points ever scored in a season.

+Art Ross Trophy winners Season Winner Team Points Win # * Montreal Canadiens 61 (2) * Chicago Black Hawks 68 1 * Detroit Red Wings 78 1 * Detroit Red Wings 86 1 * Detroit Red Wings 86 2 * Detroit Red Wings 95 3 * Detroit Red Wings 81 4 * Montreal Canadiens 75 1 * Montreal Canadiens 88 1 * Detroit Red Wings 89 5 * Montreal Canadiens 84 1 * Montreal Canadiens 96 2 * Chicago Black Hawks 81 1 1960–61 * Montreal Canadiens 95 2 * Chicago Black Hawks 84 2 * Detroit Red Wings 86 6 * Chicago Black Hawks 89 1 * Chicago Black Hawks 87 2 * Chicago Black Hawks 97 3 * Chicago Black Hawks 97 3 * Chicago Black Hawks 87 4 * Boston Bruins 126 1 * Boston Bruins 120 1 * Boston Bruins 152 2 * Boston Bruins 133 3 * Boston Bruins 130 4 * Boston Bruins 145 5 * Boston Bruins 135 2 * Montreal Canadiens 125 1 * Montreal Canadiens 136 2 * Montreal Canadiens 132 3 * New York Islanders 134 1 * Los Angeles Kings 137 1 * Edmonton Oilers 164 1 * Edmonton Oilers 212 2 * Edmonton Oilers 196 3 * Edmonton Oilers 205 4 * Edmonton Oilers 208 5 * Edmonton Oilers 215 6 * Edmonton Oilers 183 7 * Pittsburgh Penguins 168 1 * Pittsburgh Penguins 199 2 * Los Angeles Kings 142 8 * Los Angeles Kings 163 9 * Pittsburgh Penguins 131 3 * Pittsburgh Penguins 160 4 * Los Angeles Kings 130 10 ~ Pittsburgh Penguins 70 1 * Pittsburgh Penguins 161 5 * Pittsburgh Penguins 122 6 ~ Pittsburgh Penguins 102 2 ~ Pittsburgh Penguins 127 3 ~ Pittsburgh Penguins 96 4 ~ Pittsburgh Penguins 121 5 * Calgary Flames 96 1 * Colorado Avalanche 106 1 * Tampa Bay Lightning 94 1 * Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks 125 1 ^ Pittsburgh Penguins 120 1 ^ Washington Capitals 112 1 ^ Pittsburgh Penguins 113 1 * Vancouver Canucks 112 1 * Vancouver Canucks 104 1 ^ Pittsburgh Penguins 109 2 * Tampa Bay Lightning 60 2 ^ Pittsburgh Penguins 104 2 ^ Dallas Stars 87 1 ^ Chicago Blackhawks 106 1 ^ Edmonton Oilers 100 1 ^ Edmonton Oilers 108 2 ^ Tampa Bay Lightning 128 1 ^ Edmonton Oilers 110 1 ^ Edmonton Oilers 105 3 ^ Edmonton Oilers 123 4 ^ Edmonton Oilers 153 5 ^ Tampa Bay Lightning 144 2 ^ Tampa Bay Lightning 121 3 ^ Edmonton Oilers 138 6

See also List of National Hockey League awards List of NHL players List of NHL statistical leaders

References Specific

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