Description: First awarded in 1947-48, the Art Ross Trophy is presented annually “to the player who leads the League in scoring points at the end of the regular season.”
History: Arthur Howey Ross, former manager-coach of the Boston Bruins, presented the Art Ross Trophy to the NHL in 1948. If two or more players finish the regular season with the same number of points, the trophy is awarded based on the following tiebreakers: 1. Player with the most goals, 2. Player with fewer games played, 3. Player scoring first goal of the season.
Click here to watch a video on the history of the Art Ross Trophy.
2023-24 Winner: Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov posted a franchise-record 144 points (44‑100—144 in 81 GP) – the second-most by any player over the past 28 years – to finish four ahead of second-place Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (51‑89—140 in 82 GP) and earn his second Art Ross Trophy, following the 2018‑19 campaign (41‑87—128 in 82 GP).
Kucherov became the second Lightning player to claim the award multiple times, joining Martin St. Louis (2012‑13 and 2003‑04), and the fourth active player with multiple wins, after Connor McDavid (5x), Sidney Crosby (2x) and Evgeni Malkin (2x). Kucherov factored on exactly half of Tampa Bay’s 288 total goals (excluding shootout-deciding goals), marking the 12th instance in NHL history of a player registering points on at least 50 percent of his team’s scoring within a single season – and just the third occasion this century, after McDavid with the Edmonton Oilers in both 2020‑21 (57.4%) and 2018‑19 (50.7%).
Kucherov finished 54 points ahead of his closest teammate (Brayden Point: 46‑44—90 in 81 GP), the largest gap between a team’s top two scorers since the 2000‑01 Florida Panthers (55: Pavel Bure: 59‑33—92 in 82 GP and Viktor Kozlov: 14‑23—37 in 51 GP). Kucherov capped 2023‑24 by becoming the fifth different player in NHL history – and first winger – to produce 100 assists in one season (April 17 vs. TOR).
Overall, Kucherov found the scoresheet in 68 of his 81 appearances (84.0%), totaling 41 multi-point performances (t‑2nd in the NHL), 23 three-point efforts (1st in the NHL and the most by any player since 1995‑96) and eight games with at least four points (t‑1st in the NHL).
