Brett Hull Art Ross Trophy 1991

Lore & Background

By the 1990–91 season, Brett Hull had already announced himself as a force of nature, but the Art Ross year was the one in which the entire league had to reckon with him. His shot was legendary in its own right—a flat, ripping wrist shot that left goalies with little more than a flash of white and a thud against the post. He didn't just score; he made scoring look effortless, as though the net were ten feet wider than regulation. For Blues fans packed into the St. Louis Arena, every Hull goal was a small ceremony: the crowd surge, the roar, the way the arena seemed to vibrate.

The broader context mattered as much as the individual stat line. The early-1990s Blues were a team built around speed, skill, and a core of young stars who played with a swagger that older, more cautious clubs could not match. Hull was the engine of that identity. His Art Ross was not a lone statistical spike; it was the apex of a team culture that valued offensive hockey, physical play, and a refusal to be outmatched. The trophy sat in the Blues' trophy case as a reminder that St. Louis could produce a player who simply outscored everyone else in the NHL.

Years later, when Hull lifted the Stanley Cup in 1994 with the same Blues organization, the 1991 Art Ross took on a different meaning. It became the first chapter in a narrative that would end with the franchise's only championship. Fans who were there in '91 often speak of that season with a particular tenderness—it was the year the city truly believed, and Hull made them believe it every night.

In Their Own Story

The arena is humming before the puck drops. Hull skates to the left circle, stick dragging, eyes locked on the blue line. The pass arrives—a snap from the point—and he doesn't even wind up. Just a flick, a whip, the puck a white blur slicing through the cold St. Louis air. The goalie's glove is up a half-second too late. The net shakes. The sound that follows is not a cheer so much as a detonation, a wall of noise that swallows the ice, the boards, the glass. Hull doesn't celebrate. He just skates back, jaw set, already looking for the next one. In the stands, a kid in a size-too-big Blues jersey presses his face to the glass and screams. This is the night the whole city remembers.

Reader's Guide

INDIVIDUAL HONOURS

Art Ross Trophy – 1990–91 Season Who: Brett Hull, left wing, St. Louis Blues. When: Awarded at the conclusion of the 1990–91 NHL regular season (spring 1991). Context: Hull led the entire NHL in total points, earning the league's scoring title. The Blues were a top-tier offensive team that year, and Hull's nightly production was the centrepiece of their identity. Why it mattered: For a St. Louis fanbase that had long chafed under mediocrity, the Art Ross was proof that their team carried a genuine, league-best superstar. It transformed Hull from a great player into a symbol of the city's hockey ambition and set the stage for the championship run that followed in 1994.

SINGLE-SEASON SIGNIFICANCE

The 1990–91 Blues were a team built around speed, skill, and a core of young talent who played with an offensive swagger that older clubs could not match. Hull's Art Ross was the statistical crown on that identity, and it remains one of the most celebrated individual achievements in Blues franchise history.

Did You Know?

• Brett Hull was just 24 years old when he captured the 1990–91 Art Ross, making him one of the youngest players to win the NHL's scoring title at the time.
• Hull's 1991 Art Ross was the first of multiple All-Star selections during his St. Louis tenure, and it helped establish the early-90s Blues as one of the league's most exciting teams.
• Three years after the Art Ross, Hull scored the game-winning goal in Game 6 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final, clinching the Blues' only championship.
• Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, a recognition that cemented his legacy alongside the greatest scorers in NHL history.