Will Sidney Crosby Win the Scoring Title Again this Season?

Jan 15, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) at the face-off circle against the Washington Capitals during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 4-3.Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Sidney Crosby, Emperor Penguin

By this point it should be universally accepted that Sidney Crosby is the most talented player in the game today. Much of this honoured distinction is the result of Crosby being fairly good at piling up points like no other. How good exactly? Let’s take a look.

In every season that the Kid has played more than 70 games (5 times thus far), he has put up over 100 points. A feat not accomplished by many – of all active players in the league, the only one to put up as many 100-point seasons thus far in their career is the veteran Jaromir Jagr (who has 13 more seasons under his old, dusty belt).

Since his rookie season, Crosby has put up the third-most points of any player in the league (despite playing nearly 150 less games than the two players above him – Joe Thornton and Alex Ovechkin, both of whom have seen their play decline in recent years), and has led the league in points-per-game for the last four seasons.

So he’s pretty decent at getting his name on the scoreboard.

After dominating the scoring race last year en route to his second Art Ross trophy and a 17 point gap between him and the runner up (Ryan Getzlaf), it is safe to assume Crosby has a strong chance of capturing the trophy once again this season. Health will obviously be a significant factor in whether or not this is the case, but after two relatively healthy seasons, Crosby seems to be out of the woods on the injury front for now.

Even at full health, it won’t be a cakewalk though, as the NHL has a host of new superstars on the rise, all looking to make their mark in 2014-15. That being said, here are 5 players who could challenge Crosby for the crown this season: