Who Will Win The Art Ross Trophy This Year?

Published on January 13th, 2013 1:17 pm EST
Finally - no more talk about back-diving contracts and pension plans. The NHL and NHLPA have both ratified the new CBA agreement, which means that training camps will open later this week.

The NHL will play a 48 game season this year. There is a precedent, as the league also played a 48 game schedule in the 1994-95 season, thanks to another labor stoppage.

The upcoming season will be nothing but intraconference games, which will significantly cut back on the travel schedules for many of the league's teams.

The puck will drop on Sunday, January 19th, with a number of "rivalry" games scheduled to take place, including Montreal vs Toronto, Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia and New York vs Boston.

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Bodog is currently offering betting odds on who will win the Art Ross Trophy (NHL's point leader) this season.

Here are the five players with the current best odds of winning the race:

Sidney Crosby, 11/4
Evgeni Malkin, 5/1
Alexander Ovechkin, 13/2
Steven Stamkos, 13/2
Claude Giroux, 10/1

Henrik Sedin of the Vancouver Canucks is also currently listed at 10/1 to win the scoring race.

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Due to the shortened season, there will be an abbreviated training camp this year and no exhibition games. It will be imperative for certain players to get off to quick starts if they hope to win the scoring race, as they won't have a full season to catch up. Players will also need to be very wary of the possibility of injury, as their regular routines have been all messed up due to the lockout.

Will a veteran player like Brad Richards (18/1) have an edge in the race to win the scoring race this season, or should you look to a very young player (such as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, 35/1) who has a number of competitive games under his belt this year in the form of the World Junior Hockey Championships and the AHL? A player like Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who will likely get a pile of power play time this season, could be a dark horse to win the scoring title this season.

Here are some more interesting odds:

John Tavares, 20/1
Ilya Kovalchuk, 40/1
Jason Spezza, 40/1

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Will Crosby win the scoring race this year, or will somebody else take the title?