Crosby Way Ahead Of The Rest When It Comes To Art Ross Trophy Candidates

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Jonny Doveless

Sidney Crosby looks on his way to winning the 2014 Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring leader.

Sidney Crosby will take a two-week break in February along with every other NHL player as they head overseas to Sochi for the Winter Olympic games. As long as that’s the only time that Crosby takes away from the NHL this season, he should be a lock to win the Art Ross trophy. Crosby leads the NHL with 67 points in 47 games this season, and there is absolutely no reason to think he will slow down as he and the Pittsburgh Penguins continue to move closer to locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference, which makes him a tremendous NHL futures favorite according to the sites that offer online betting software services.

As it stands, Patrick Kane has registered 23 goals and 56 points in 48 games. As impressive as that is, Kane is still 11 points back of Crosby for the league-lead, and as their current pace the difference between them actually stands to rise. Kane has been arguably the most dangerous offensive threat for the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and he is one of the most lethal pure scorers in the game. The fact that he is still 11 points back in the Art Ross isn’t a criticism of Kane as much as it is a testament to how excellent of a player that Crosby is.

Tied with Kane at 56 points is another center that will be joining Crosby with team Canada in New York Islanders’ captain John Tavares. Tavares has 21 goals and 56 points in 46 games this year, so at his current pace he actually projects to finish ahead of Kane for second in the Art Ross trophy race, although still fairly far back of Crosby. The Islanders play a very quick, high-octane offensive style that only enhances Tavares’ natural abilities, and the result has bee some offensive explosions, as we saw with his recent five-point night against the Dallas Stars. At just 23-years old, Tavares is still three years younger than Crosby, but he is right there in the running.

It may seem strange at this point in the season, but it really is hard to imagine any other player than Kane or Tavares challenging Crosby for the Art Ross title. Ryan Getzlaf, Joe Thornton, and even Crosby’s teammate Chris Kunitz have all put up some big offensive numbers, but none of those players has more than 53 points – 14 fewer than Crosby. With all of those players already performing at such a high level, it’s unreasonable to expect them to somehow be able to close the gap the rest of the way.

The fact that Crosby is already so far ahead of the pack is testament to how talented he is, and it’s amazing to think what the Penguins are capable of accomplishing with players like Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, and Kris Letang around him. Pittsburgh has plenty of offensive skill, and given the play of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and the depth they have on defense, they could very well have the most complete team in the Eastern conference this season. Crosby is way ahead of the rest when it comes to the Art Ross trophy race and as early as it is, Kane and Tavares may be the only two players that even have a chance at catching him in the Art Ross trophy race if he is healthy, with the NHL futures odds to bet on the winner of this award at Payperhead.com.

Author Bio:

Jonny Doveless is an online sports enthusiast who recently found himself searching for the best online betting software to help him manage his sports book. He discovered http://payperhead.com and was blown away by the quality of their software. He highly recommends their site to anyone looking for an efficient way to manage their sports books.