Art Ross Trophy
Awarded to the NHL's regular-season points leader.
The Art Ross Trophy goes each year to the NHL player who finishes the regular season with the most points. Art Ross, a former player, general manager, and head coach, donated the trophy to the league. It has been awarded 71 times since the 1947–48 season, with 29 different players winning it. Ross also designed the official NHL puck, which has slightly bevelled edges for better control. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers currently holds the trophy.
Art Ross, whose full name was Arthur Howey "Art" Ross, gave the trophy to the NHL in 1947. He was a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee as a player and had served as the Boston Bruins’ general manager and head coach. The first winner was Montreal Canadiens center Elmer Lach in 1947–48.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have produced the most Art Ross winners, with 15. The Edmonton Oilers are close behind at 14, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are tied for third with nine each. Joe Thornton won in 2005–06, starting the season with the Boston Bruins but finishing with the San Jose Sharks, so the award counts for the Sharks. That leaves the Bruins with seven winners, fifth overall.
Between 1951 and 2001, only Jean Beliveau, Marcel Dionne, and Bryan Trottier won the scoring title once. Multiple winners in that span included Gordie Howe, Bernie Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr. From 1981 to 2001, just three players—Gretzky, Lemieux, and Jagr—won the trophy. Jarome Iginla broke that streak in 2002.
Gretzky holds the record with ten Art Ross wins, seven of them consecutive. Howe, Lemieux, and McDavid have each won six times, while Esposito and Jagr have five. Jagr, a Czech, has the most wins by a non-Canadian. Patrick Kane, an American, is the only U.S.-born winner, taking the trophy in 2016. Gretzky is the only player to win it for more than one team, and Thornton is the only one to win it while playing for two different teams in the same season. Stan Mikita is the only player to win the Art Ross, Hart, and Lady Byng trophies in the same season, doing so twice (1966–67 and 1967–68). Bobby Orr is the only defenseman to win the scoring title, in 1970 and 1975; in 1970 he also won the Hart, Norris, and Conn Smythe trophies, becoming the first player to capture four individual awards in one season.
Quick Facts
- Sport
- Ice hockey
- Givenfor
- "Player who leads the League in points at the end of the regular season."
- First
- 1947–48 NHL season
- Firstwinner
- Elmer Lach
- Mostwins
- Wayne Gretzky (10)
- Mostrecent
- Connor McDavid (6) / Edmonton Oilers
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Art Ross Trophy was presented to the 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 1947–48 season. Players from the Pittsburgh Penguins won the trophy 15 times and the Edmonton Oilers have won it 14 times, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks are tied for third with nine times each. Although Joe Thornton, winner from the 2005–06 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 (1966–67 and 1967–68, 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 1961–62, 1979–80, and 1994–95 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.
Reader's Guide
The Art Ross Trophy is a central measure of offensive achievement in the NHL, awarded annually to the player who accumulates the most points during the regular season. Since its introduction in the 1947–48 season, it has been won 71 times by 29 players, reflecting both sustained excellence and rare dominance. The trophy's history is marked by extraordinary runs: Wayne Gretzky holds the record with ten wins, seven consecutively, while Gordie Howe, Mario Lemieux, and Connor McDavid have each won six times. For two decades from 1981 to 2001, only Gretzky, Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr won the award, underscoring their era's scoring supremacy. The trophy also highlights unique achievements: Bobby Orr remains the only defenseman to win it, Patrick Kane is the only American-born winner, and Sidney Crosby became the youngest scoring champion in any major North American professional sport at age 19. The award's tiebreaker rules—goals, games played, then first goal of the season—have decided three ties, all resolved by the first criterion. The Art Ross Trophy's legacy is intertwined with the NHL's scoring leaders, and its winners often define their generations.
More in NHL Trophies and Awards 1-24
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