The 2024-25 NHL regular season is just over two-thirds through, as we rev up for the final push toward the playoffs. It’s becoming clear that the race for one of the league's most prestigious individual awards is between three of the league’s best players. The Art Ross Trophy is annually awarded to the leading point-getter in the NHL, and this year, Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid is not in the conversation. Nathan MacKinnon, Leon Draisaitl, and Nikita Kucherov are all elite talents on the ice and are heading into the stretch run at breakneck speed as the three favorites to take home the trophy. It’s anybody's game at this point, so let’s take a deeper dive into each player, as well as the full odds on BetOnline.
Nathan MacKinnon -110
One of the few trophies missing from Nathan MacKinnon’s mantle is the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the league leader in points. He nearly snagged the title last year but was just five points shy of overtaking Nikita Kucherov for the eventual league lead. That being said, MacKinnon is already coming off a Hart Trophy-winning season in the 2023-24 campaign, and his 23 goals and 91 points in just 61 games lead the league heading into March. He is currently on pace for 121 points this year.
Leon Draisaitl +115
The Cologne native has recorded at least 100 points in five of his last six seasons, with the lone outlier being the 56-game 2021 season, where he put up 84 points. Leon Draisaitl entered the third month of 2025 with 44 goals in just 59 games, along with 90 points as of the morning of March 3rd. He is on pace for a league-best 123 points this season.
An elite talent on his own, it has definitely helped Draisaitl’s numbers to play with fellow superstar Connor McDavid, and it has shown in the past in terms of individual trophies. At the conclusion of the shortened 2019-20 season, Draisaitl won the Art Ross, the Hart Trophy for MVP, and the Ted Lindsay Award, which is essentially the MVP as voted on by the players. A parlay to keep an eye on is a Draisaitl Hart Trophy to go along with the Art Ross.
Nikita Kucherov +150
The last horse in this race is Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov, who is a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner (2018-19, 2023-24). While he is less than five points back of the lead in scoring, there has been little noise around Kucherov’s name in the Art Ross race, similar to last season when he posted a career-high stat line with 44 goals and 100 assists for 144 points to lead the league.
Should he win a third Art Ross title, Kucherov would join elite, Hall of Fame-worthy company. Only ten players have won the award at least three times in its 78-year history. Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, Phil Esposito, Guy Lafleur, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, and Connor McDavid are the only players to ever accomplish the feat.
2025 Odds for the Art Ross Trophy
- Nathan MacKinnon (COL) -110
- Leon Draisaitl (EDM) +115
- Nikita Kucherov (TB) +150
- Connor McDavid (EDM) +550
- Mitchell Marner (TOR) +10000