The Art Ross Trophy: A True Recognition of the Seasons Best Player
Motivated people who achieve in any field of life know what it feels like when their hard work is noticed and they are recognized for their doings. In the game of hockey in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Art Ross Trophy is a way the league recognises
the best player for his performance in the regulation season.
Awarding different awards for those players who make an exceptional performance during the regulation season and playoffs, is done for a reason. It is because some players play better during the regular season and some during the post-season. Nevertheless,
there are always players that keep the momentum going throughout the year, but those cases are rare and always an exception.
The Art Ross Trophy was first awarded in 1947 to Elmer Lach who played 14 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens and since then, it has been given every year to the player who scores the most points in a single season. The most times a single player has won
the trophy is 10, which is a record currently still held by the legendary hockey player, Wayne Gretzky. Gretzky has become a symbol of ice hockey around the world just like Michael Jordan is for Basketball. He has won the award for half of his 20-year career,
which to this date has not been achieved by any other player.
Other legendary players like Gordie Howe, also known as “Mr. Hockey”, and Mario Lemieux are behind Gretzky with six times each. The Pittsburgh Penguins are the only franchise in the NHL to have players win it for a total of 13 times with Montreal as the
runner-up with nine.
After the current 2010-2011 season, the decision was pretty clear. Daniel Sedin, the forward for the Vancouver Canucks, who have had their best season yet in their 40-year history as a part of the NHL, had 104 points in the end. He was five points ahead
of Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis and 10 points above his twin brother, Henrik Sedin. Both the Sedin twins have become an unstoppable force in the league which has up until now led them to the Western Conference playoff finals. Henrik leads the league in assists
but is still below his brother when goals and assists are combined to form the points.
In the case of more than one player being tied at the end of regulation season with the same number of points, a tie-breaker comes into play which then decides who will finally be announced the winner of the Art Ross Trophy. The first condition to be considered
a winner in a tie situation is who has scored the most goals, if the tie still remains, then, the number of games played by the candidates will be considered and the player with the fewest games played will be announced as the winner. If even after these two
considerations, players remain tied, whichever player scored the first goal of the season will be considered the winner.
Since this season's winner has been announced, it will be an exciting situation when the next season begins, and with that another series of competition and fight for the trophy will begin.
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