The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League player who leads the league in scoring points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the NHL by former player, general manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has been awarded 61 times to 25 players since its inception in the 1947–48 NHL season. The current holder is Evgeni Malkin, who scored 113 points in the 2008–09 season. Malkin became the second Russian-born player, joining 2007–08 winner Alexander Ovechkin, and the fourth different Pittsburgh Penguins player to win the trophy, the team's thirteenth win overall.

History

The Art Ross Trophy was presented to the National Hockey League in 1947 by Arthur Howie "Art" Ross, former general manager and head coach of the Boston Bruins and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee as a player. Elmer Lach was the winner of the first Art Ross Trophy, which was awarded at the conclusion of the 1947–48 NHL season.

Wayne Gretzky won the Art Ross Trophy 10 times during his 20-year NHL career. Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux each won it six times, while Phil Esposito and Jaromir Jagr each have five. The non-Canadian player with most awards is Czech Jaromir Jagr. Gretzky is the only player to win the trophy for more than one team and Joe Thornton is the only player to win it while playing for two different teams in one season.

Players from the Pittsburgh Penguins have won the trophy 13 times; players from the Montreal Canadiens have won it nine times; and the Chicago Blackhawks have seen players win the award eight times. From 1969 to 2001, Marcel Dionne and Bryan Trottier were the only single-time winners of the scoring title, while Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr had won it on multiple occasions. For two decades, from 1980 to 2001, only three players won the Art Ross Trophy—Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jaromir Jagr. The streak ended when Jarome Iginla won the trophy in 2002. In 2007, 19-year-old Sidney Crosby became the youngest player to win the Art Ross Trophy and the youngest scoring champion in any major North Americanprofessional sport. Only one defenseman has won the NHL scoring title: Bobby Orr did it in 1969–70 and 1974–75.

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 1961-62, 1979-80, and 1994-95 seasons, all of them being decided by the first tiebreaker of scoring more goals. Interestingly, the NHL's award to recognize the leading goal-scorer, the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy, does not have a tiebreaker so multiple winners can be recognized in one season. In 2002–03 season, the Vancouver Canucks' Markus Näslund entered the final game as the league's leading point and goal scorer, but ending up lost both the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies to Peter Forsberg (who recorded three points that night) and Milan Hejduk, respectively."

Winners

Key

• ^(#) Including the number of scoring titles prior to the inception of the trophy

1947–48

	Montreal Canadiens	061	1(2)
1948–49		Chicago Black Hawks	068	1
1949–50		Detroit Red Wings	078	1
1950–51		Detroit Red Wings	086	1
1951–52		Detroit Red Wings	086	2
1952–53		Detroit Red Wings	095	3
1953–54		Detroit Red Wings	081	4
1954–55		Montreal Canadiens	075	1
1955–56		Montreal Canadiens	088	1
1956–57		Detroit Red Wings	089	5
1957–58		Montreal Canadiens	084	1
1958–59		Montreal Canadiens	096	2
1959–60		Chicago Black Hawks	081	1
1960–61		Montreal Canadiens	095	2
1961–62		Chicago Black Hawks	084	2
1962–63		Detroit Red Wings	086	6
1963–64		Chicago Black Hawks	089	1
1964–65		Chicago Black Hawks	087	2
1965–66		Chicago Black Hawks	097	3
1966–67		Chicago Black Hawks	097	3
1967–68		Chicago Black Hawks	087	4
1968–69		Boston Bruins	126	1
1969–70		Boston Bruins	120	1
1970–71		Boston Bruins	152	2
1971–72		Boston Bruins	133	3
1972–73		Boston Bruins	130	4
1973–74		Boston Bruins	145	5
1974–75		Boston Bruins	135	2
1975–76		Montreal Canadiens	125	1
1976–77		Montreal Canadiens	136	2
1977–78		Montreal Canadiens	132	3
1978–79		New York Islanders	134	1
1979–80		Los Angeles Kings	137	1
1980–81		Edmonton Oilers	164	1
1981–82		Edmonton Oilers	212	2
1982–83		Edmonton Oilers	196	3
1983–84		Edmonton Oilers	205	4
1984–85		Edmonton Oilers	208	5
1985–86		Edmonton Oilers	215	6
1986–87		Edmonton Oilers	183	7
1987–88		Pittsburgh Penguins	168	1
1988–89		Pittsburgh Penguins	199	2
1989–90		Los Angeles Kings	142	8
1990–91		Los Angeles Kings	163	9
1991–92		Pittsburgh Penguins	131	3
1992–93		Pittsburgh Penguins	160	4
1993–94		Los Angeles Kings	130	9910
1994–95		Pittsburgh Penguins	070*season shortened by lockout	1
1995–96		Pittsburgh Penguins	161	5
1996–97		Pittsburgh Penguins	122	6
1997–98		Pittsburgh Penguins	102	2
1998–99		Pittsburgh Penguins	127	3
1999–2000		Pittsburgh Penguins	096	4
2000–01		Pittsburgh Penguins	121	5
2001–02		Calgary Flames	096	1
2002–03		Colorado Avalanche	106	1
2003–04		Tampa Bay Lightning	094	1
2004–05		-	-	-
2005–06		Boston Bruins/San Jose Sharks	125	1
2006–07		Pittsburgh Penguins	120	1
2007–08		Washington Capitals	112	1
2008–09		Pittsburgh Penguins	113	1

References

General

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

Specific

See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL statistical leaders