Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has captured his sixth career Art Ross Trophy as the scoring champion for the 2025-26 NHL regular season. The announcement, made on April 17, 2026, confirms McDavid as the league’s top point-producer for the season.
McDavid finished the campaign with 138 points across 82 games, a total comprised of 48 goals and a league-leading 90 assists. This performance placed him eight points ahead of Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who finished second in the scoring race with 130 points in 76 games.
Historical Milestones for McDavid
With this sixth Art Ross Trophy, McDavid now ties Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux for the second-most wins of the award in NHL history. He trails only Wayne Gretzky, who recorded 10 Art Ross Trophies. McDavid’s previous wins occurred during the 2016-17, 2017-18, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 seasons.
The Edmonton center demonstrated significant consistency throughout the 2025-26 season, recording points in 68 of his 82 appearances, which is a rate of 82.9%. He also led the NHL with 43 multi-point performances.
McDavid also achieved a rare historical feat by recording a point in all 41 of the Oilers’ victories during the season. He is only the third player in league history to record a point in every team win during a single season with a minimum of 25 wins. The only other players to do so were Wayne Gretzky, who did so in 29 wins during the 1980-81 season, and Dennis Maruk, who achieved it in 26 wins during the 1981-82 season.
This latest trophy brings McDavid’s career total to 15 individual awards. His collection includes four Ted Lindsay Awards, three Hart Memorial Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy, and one Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. This total is the fifth-most in league history, following Wayne Gretzky (31), Alex Ovechkin (19), Mario Lemieux (17), and Bobby Orr (17).
Goal Scoring and Defensive Honors
Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche claimed his first career Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring leader. MacKinnon scored 53 goals during the season, finishing with 74 assists for a total of 127 points in 80 games.
The Colorado Avalanche also secured the William M. Jennings Trophy. The award was shared by goaltenders Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood, who both played a minimum of 25 games for the team that allowed the fewest goals against during the regular season.
The 2025-26 Scoring Race
While McDavid reclaimed the scoring title, the race featured several high-scoring performances. Nikita Kucherov, the two-time reigning champion, finished second with 130 points, consisting of 44 goals and 86 assists.
Other notable finishes in the top five included:
- Nathan MacKinnon finished third with 127 points.
- San Jose Sharks sophomore Macklin Celebrini finished fourth with 115 points, setting a franchise record for the most points in a single season.
- Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele finished fifth with 103 points.
Upcoming Award Finalists
The NHL has begun releasing finalists for the remaining 10 major awards, with announcements scheduled from April 28 through May 11, 2026.
On April 28, 2026, the league announced the finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award, which is voted on by the NHLPA to honor the most outstanding player of the season. The finalists are:
- Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
- Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay Lightning)
- Macklin Celebrini (San Jose Sharks)
On April 29, 2026, the finalists for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the league’s top goaltender, were revealed. The finalists include:
- Ilya Sorokin (New York Islanders)
- Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay Lightning)