So what does this mean for the 2015-16 season (and beyond)? A few things.
1) Adjust your expectations accordingly
If recent NHL history has shown us anything it’s that not only are the days of players reaching the 100-point mark all but finished, even getting to 90 points is starting to look like an unreachable goal for all but one or two players in the league.
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3) So how many points is it going to take to win the Art Ross Trophy this season?
The folks at Bovada released their preseason over/under projections for the top scorers in the league this season and only one of them was set above 90 (Crosby).
It's probably a safe bet that for the second year in a row the NHL's leading scorer finishes below the century mark, and perhaps even in the 80s again. As mentioned above, only one player has topped 90 points over the past two seasons and the elite, generational scorers in the league right now (Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin) are at a point in their careers where they have probably already hit their peak as offensive players (
typically between the ages of 24 and 26), so they probably shouldn't be counted on for 100 or 110 point seasons anymore.