A hat trick is one of the NHL’s rarest achievements with only 115 during the 2023-24 season. That’s rarer than a shutout, with 134 in 2023-24, or a shorthanded goal, of which there were 233 last season. Of the 8,086 goals scored last season, 350 were scored with a hat trick.
The greatest player of all-time, Wayne Gretzky, had 50 regular season hat tricks in his career, or one in 3.4 percent of his games. A 17-season veteran like Claude Giroux, who has 350 goals, only has one regular-season hat trick. The point is that hat tricks are rare because they’re difficult.
But they’re also fun and the potential for one has everyone in the arena watching with intrigue after a player reaches two goals in a game, waiting to toss hats onto the ice, participating in a tradition that dates back to the 1930s or 1950s, depending on who you ask. It’s because of how fun they are that I wrote all about them. There are many ways to look at hat tricks – by team, by player, individual season, career, regular season, and postseason. This post is about all of those and my goal is to show that hat tricks are, in fact, fun.
Single Season Hat Trick Leaders
10 – Wayne Gretzky 1981-82
Wayne Gretzky scored 10 hat tricks in a season twice and it’s no surprise that one of those occurrences was during the 1981-82 season when he scored a record 92 goals as a member of the Edmonton Oilers. The Great One had back-to-back hat tricks on Dec. 27 vs. the Los Angeles Kings with four goals and on Dec. 30 against the Philadelphia Flyers with five goals.
Those hat tricks were part of a stretch when he had three in five games when including his Dec. 19 hat trick versus the Minnesota North Stars. Gretzky had two or more goals in 22 games that season. He had two hat tricks against the Flyers, one on Jan. 31 in addition to the one listed above, and two against the Kings with one on Nov. 25 as well as the one on Dec. 27.
10- Wayne Gretzky 1983-84
Gretzky’s second season with 10 hat tricks was the same season he scored 87 goals, the second-most in history. He had 24 games with at least two goals, more such games than he had in 1981-82. He had back-to-back hat tricks twice. The first began on Jan. 4 with a four-goal game against the North Stars. It was followed up by a standard hat trick against the Hartford Whalers on Jan. 7.
His second of back-to-back hat tricks occurred on consecutive days, Feb. 21 and 22 against the St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins, respectively, with four goals in each. Gretzky had two hat tricks versus the Winnipeg Jets, the only team he had multiple hat tricks against that season, on Nov. 6 and Dec. 21.
9 – Mike Bossy 1980-81
Arguably the greatest goalscorer in league history, Mike Bossy averaged .76 goals per game (G/G) for his career, highest in history using Hockey-Reference’s rate stat requirements. During the 1980-81 season, led the league with 68 goals and it was the fourth of nine straight seasons with at least 50 goals. He had nine hat tricks that season including two instances of back-to-back tricks.
His first set of back-to-back hat tricks started on Nov. 8 against the Chicago Black Hawks and ended on Nov. 11 with four goals versus the North Stars. His second time began with a four-goal performance against the Penguins on Jan. 13 and ended on Jan. 17 versus the Washington Capitals. He scored at least two goals in 16 games and had multiple hat tricks against one team, the Black Hawks.
9 – Mario Lemieux 1988-89
Mario Lemieux’s 1988-89 season was the best ever by a player not named Gretzky. Lemieux scored 85 goals, fourth-most in history, and 199 points, which made him the only player besides Gretzky to ever approach 200 points in a season. That season, Lemieux failed to register consecutive hat tricks but did net a goal in seven straight games between Oct. 11 and 25. During that stretch, he accumulated 15 goals and two hat tricks.
He also scored multiple goals in 24 games and finished with two hat tricks versus the New Jersey Devils. He scored five goals along with three assists against them on Dec. 31 and had a standard hat trick on March 31.
8 – Brett Hull 1991-92
Brett Hull scored 70 goals during the 1991-92 season, the third straight season he led the league in goals, and also the third consecutive season with 70 or more goals. He had no back-to-back hat tricks that season but did score two-plus goals in 14 games. He had his most hat tricks against the New York Islanders with two, one on Dec. 10 and a second on Dec. 21, in only three games against them that season.
Most Career Hat Tricks
50 – Wayne Gretzky
Again, nearly every list for “the best” or “the most” of something in NHL history will include Gretzky and most likely, he’ll top the list. His 50 career hat tricks are 10 more than any other player and doesn’t include his 10 postseason hat tricks in the NHL, his four WHA regular season hat tricks, nor his one WHA postseason hat trick.
In addition to his two 10-hat trick seasons, he also had a season with six and two seasons with four hat tricks. He had seven NHL hat tricks against the Jets and one in the WHA against them, his most against one franchise. Using his 40 regular season NHL hat tricks, he scored one in 3.4 percent of his games as well as one in five percent of WHA games.
40 – Mario Lemieux
Lemieux played in 915 regular season games in his career, over 500 less than Gretzky, but still managed to have the second-most hat tricks in history. Lemieux’s 40 regular season hat tricks equal one in 4.4 percent of games. He also had three postseason hat tricks, including five goals against the Flyers on April 25, 1989. On top of his nine hat tricks during the 1988-89 season, he also had two seasons with six, one with five, and two with four hat tricks.
He totaled four regular season hat tricks against the Flyers, his most against one team, and added one against them in the postseason. He also had a four-goal game against the Flyers on March 20, 1993, his third of four hat tricks during the 1992-93 season when he played in 60 games.
39 – Mike Bossy
Bossy scored a hat trick in 5.2 percent of games he played, by far the highest among those on this list. In only 752 regular season games, he finished with 39 hat tricks and added five in 129 postseason games. In addition to his nine hat tricks in 1980-81, he finished with five twice and had three seasons with four hat tricks. He had six hat tricks against the Black Hawks/Blackhawks, including two against them during each of the 1980-81 and 1983-84 seasons.
33 – Brett Hull
Hull finished with 33 regular season hat tricks, or one in 2.6 percent of games. He had at least three hat tricks in four seasons and had three regular season hat tricks against the Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs, including back-to-back hat tricks against the Maple Leafs on Oct. 24-25, 1990. Hull had one playoff hat trick, in 2002, as a member of the Detroit Red Wings against the Vancouver Canucks.
32 – Phil Esposito
Longtime Boston Bruin Phil Esposito was the career leader in hat tricks from 1978 until 1985 when Gretzky passed him. Esposito finished with 32 hat tricks, still fifth-most in history, quite a feat considering he hasn’t played in 37 years.
He scored a hat trick in 2.5 percent of games and had four postseason hat tricks in 130 games. He had one season with seven hat tricks and three with four hat tricks. He victimized the Canucks throughout his career, scoring five hat tricks against them.
Active Hat Trick Leaders
32 – Alex Ovechkin
Alex Ovechkin is the active leader in goals by a wide margin. Therefore it makes sense that his 32 hat tricks in the regular season are tops among active players and tied for fifth all-time. He has three seasons with three hat tricks – 2007-08, 2008-09, 2017-18, and 2018-19; and one season with four – 2019-20.
Ovechkin has his most hat tricks against the Ottawa Senators with three, one each in 2007, 2009, and 2017. That includes a four-goal, one-assist performance in an 8-6 win on Dec. 29, 2007. He also has one postseason hat trick, on May 4, 2009 against the Penguins when both he and Sidney Crosby had hat tricks.
19 – David Pastrnak
Despite only having 10 seasons in the NHL, David Pastrnak already has 19 regular-season hat tricks. His first occurred in 2017-18, which he followed up with his first playoff hat trick in April 2018. He has multiple seasons with three hat tricks and one season with four. Given the rate at which he’s netting hat tricks, he could pass Ovechkin in the future.
*15 – Jaromir Jagr
Jaromir Jagr is still an active player in Europe, although it’s unlikely he plays in the NHL again. He has 15 career hat tricks, but hasn’t scored one since the 2014-15 season and with over 1,700 regular season games, he has a hat trick in under one percent of his games. He scored 10 with the Penguins, three with the New York Rangers, two with the Capitals, and one as a Devil.
He’s had three hat tricks in a season twice, in 2000-01 and 2005-06. His three hat tricks against the Bruins are his most against one franchise and all three occurred when he was a Penguin. Jagr has one postseason hat trick, also as a Penguin, on May 11, 1996 against the Rangers when he and Lemieux both had one.
Progressive Leaders
The NHL started off with a bang from a hat trick perspective in 1917-18, the league’s inaugural season, as Hall of Famers Cy Denneny and Joe Malone both tallied seven that season. Denneny finished with 25 hat tricks while Malone retired with 18. Denneny was the league’s sole career leader in hat tricks from the second season, in 1918-19, until the 1955-56 season when Maurice “Rocket” Richard tied him with 25.
Richard took the lead two seasons later, in 1957-58, and remained the all-time leader until the 1970-71 season when Bobby Hull surpassed him with 27 tricks. Hull’s 28 career hat tricks were tops until Phil Esposito took over during the 1977-78 season and he led until Gretzky passed him during the 1984-85 season with 34 and has held the lead since.
By individual seasons, Denneny and Malone’s seven hat tricks in 1917-18 remained the most in a single season until the 1980-81 season when Bossy surpassed them with nine. That record lasted less than a season when Gretzky had 10, a record that remains intact.
Yearly Leaders
2023-24 (6) – Auston Matthews
2022-23 (4) – Tage Thompson
2021-22 (4) – Auston Matthews
2020-21 (3) – Mika Zibanejad, Connor McDavid
2019-20 (4) – David Pastrnak, Alexander Ovechkin
2018-19 (3) – Alex Ovechkin, Patrik Laine, David Pastrnak
2017-18 (3) – Alex Ovechkin, Connor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat
2016-17 (3) – Patrik Laine
2015-16 (3) – Zach Parise
2014-15 (3) – Corey Perry
2013-14 (3) – Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Max Pacioretty
Times Leading the League
8 – Maurice “Rocket” Richard
Richard led the league in hat tricks a record eight times between 1944 and 1955, including three consecutive seasons between 1946-47 and 1948-49 and never had more than four in a season.
6 – Bobby Hull
Bobby Hull tied or led the NHL outright six times, including four straight seasons between 1963-64 and 1966-67. He finished his NHL career with 28 regular season hat tricks and added another 13 in the WHA.
5 – Charlie Conacher
Charlie Conacher led the league in hat tricks five times during the 1930s as a member of the Maple Leafs. He finished his career with 15 regular season hat tricks.
5 – Cy Denneny
Denneny, the league’s original hat trick king, led the league in the category five times in the league’s first seven seasons.
5 – Gordie Howe
Although Gordie Howe’s career spanned five decades, all five times he led the league in hat tricks occurred between 1949-50 and 1956-57. He finished with 19 regular season hat tricks in the NHL and never had more than three in a season.
*Notable that Gretzky only led the league in hat tricks three times.
Hat Tricks by Season – Past 10 Seasons
2023-24 – 115
2022-23 – 96
2021-22 – 102
2020-21 – 60 (COVID-Shortened Season)
2019-20 – 67 (COVID-Shortened Season)
2018-19 – 97
2017-18 – 81
2016-17 – 59
2015-16 – 67
2014-15 – 49
Hat Tricks by Team
Anaheim Ducks
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 68
Career Leader: Teemu Selanne – 13
Season Leader: Teemu Selanne (1997-98), Corey Perry (2010-11), Corey Perry (2014-15) – 3
Boston Bruins
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 354
Career Leader: Phil Esposito – 26
Season Leader: Phil Esposito (1970-71) – 7
Buffalo Sabres
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 207
Career Leader: Rick Martin – 21
Season Leader: Rick Martin (1975-76), Alex Mogilny (1992-93) – 7
Calgary Flames
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 211
Career Leader: Kent Nilsson – 14
Season Leader: Kent Nilsson (1982-83), Lanny McDonald (1982-83), Hakan Loob (1987-88), Theo Fleury (1990-91) – 5
Carolina Hurricanes
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 139
Career Leader: Eric Staal – 13
Season Leader: Eric Staal (2008-09) – 4
Chicago Blackhawks
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 298
Career Leader: Bobby Hull – 28
Season Leader: Bobby Hull (1959-60, 1965-66) – 4
Colorado Avalanche
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 182
Career Leader: Peter Stastny – 16
Season Leader: Miroslav Frycer (1981-82), Peter Stastny (1982-83) – 4
Columbus Blue Jackets
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 51
Career Leader: Cam Atkinson – 6
Season Leader: Tyler Wright (2002-03), Rick Nash (2008-09), Jeff Carter (2011-12), Cam Atkinson (2018-19) – 2
Dallas Stars
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 175
Career Leader: Dino Ciccarelli – 14
Season Leader: 8 Players – 3
Detroit Red Wings
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 295
Career Leader: Gordie Howe – 19
Season Leader: Frank Mahovlich (1968-69) – 4
Edmonton Oilers
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 243
Career Leader: Wayne Gretzky – 43
Season Leader: Wayne Gretzky (1981-82, 1983-84) – 10
Florida Panthers
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 66
Career Leader: Pavel Bure – 10
Season Leader: Pavel Bure (1999-00, 2000-01) – 4
Los Angeles Kings
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 205
Career Leader: Marcel Dionne – 19
Season Leader: Jimmy Carson (1987-88) – 5
Minnesota Wild
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 44
Career Leader: Marian Gaborik – 9
Season Leader: Marian Gaborik (2002-03), Zach Parise (2015-16) – 3
Montreal Canadiens
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 418
Career Leader: Maurice “Rocket” Richard – 26
Season Leader: Joe Malone (1917-18) – 7
Nashville Predators
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 51
Career Leader: Filip Forsberg – 10
Season Leader: Filip Forsberg (2015-16, 2016-17, 2023-24) – 2
New Jersey Devils
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 102
Career Leader: Patrik Elias – 8
Season Leader: Kirk Muller (1987-88), John MacLean (1988-89), Patrik Elias (2000-01) – 3
New York Islanders
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 204
Career Leader: Mike Bossy – 39
Season Leader: Mike Bossy (1980-81) – 9
New York Rangers
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 296
Career Leader: Bill Cook – 9
Season Leader: Tomas Sandstrom (1986-87) – 4
Ottawa Senators
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 73
Career Leader: Daniel Alfredsson – 8
Season Leader: Marian Hossa (2002-03), Dany Heatley (2006-07) – 3
Philadelphia Flyers
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 211
Career Leader: Tim Kerr – 17
Season Leader: Tim Kerr (1984-85) – 5
Pittsburgh Penguins
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 248
Career Leader: Mario Lemieux – 40
Season Leader: Mario Lemieux (1988-89) – 9
San Jose Sharks
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 82
Career Leader: Jonathan Cheechoo – 9
Season Leader: Jonathan Cheechoo (2005-06) – 5
Seattle Kraken
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 2
Career Leader: Jordan Eberle & Jared McCann – 1
Season Leader: Jordan Eberle (2021-22) & Jared McCann (2022-23) – 1
St. Louis Blues
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 192
Career Leader: Brett Hull – 27
Season Leader: Brett Hull (1991-92) – 8
Tampa Bay Lightning
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 71
Career Leader: Steven Stamkos – 13
Season Leader: Wendel Clark (1998-99) – 3
Toronto Maple Leafs
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 352
Career Leader: Darryl Sittler – 18
Season Leader: Reg Noble (1917-18), Babe Dye (1924-25), Darryl Sittler (1980-81) – 5
Utah Hockey Club
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 125
Career Leader: Dale Hawerchuk – 12
Season Leader: Teemu Selanne (1992-93) – 5
Vancouver Canucks
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 154
Career Leader: Tony Tanti, Markus Naslund – 10
Season Leader: Petri Skriko (1986-87) – 4
Vegas Golden Knights
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 19
Career Leader: Jonathan Marchessault – 5
Season Leader: Jonathan Marchessault (2023-24) – 3
Washington Capitals
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 159
Career Leader: Alex Ovechkin – 30
Season Leader: Dennis Maruk (1980-81, 1981-82), Peter Bondra (1995-96), Alexander Semin (2010-11), Alexander Ovechkin (2019-20) – 4
Winnipeg Jets
Number of Hat Tricks in Franchise History: 68
Career Leader: Ilya Kovalchuk – 11
Season Leader: Ilya Kovalchuk (2007-08), Patrik Laine (2016-17, 2018-19) – 3
Postseason Hat Tricks
Most in a Career
10 – Wayne Gretzky
The career leader in postseason goals and points with 122 and 382, respectively, it’s only fitting that Gretzky has the most playoff hat tricks as well. He was unbelievable in the postseason, averaging .59 G/G, just behind his .60 average for the regular season, had six postseasons with at least 10 goals, five with 30 or more points, and four with multiple hat tricks.
He had seven playoff hat tricks with the Oilers, two with the Rangers, one as a member of the Kings, and also had a postseason hat trick in the WHA. His most famous one occurred with the Kings in Game Seven of the conference finals against the Maple Leafs when he had a point in four of his team’s five goals with three goals and an assist.
7 – Jari Kurri
Gretzky’s long-time teammate Jari Kurri occupies the second spot on this list, again fitting, as he’s third all-time in postseason goals and points with 106 and 233, respectively. He had five postseasons with 10-plus goals and led the league four times in the category. All seven of Kurri’s playoff hat tricks occurred with the Oilers, including four in 1985. He had back-to-back three-goal games on May 14 and 16 that year in the conference finals against the Black Hawks.
7 – Maurice “Rocket” Richard
Richard won eight Stanley Cups in his career, all with the Canadiens. He had seven postseason hat tricks in his career but only multiple in one year, 1944. He registered at least one hat trick in five of the postseasons that resulted in Stanley Cups: 1944, 1953, 1956, 1957, and 1958. He was the playoff leader in goals five times and scored four or more goals in a game three times in the playoffs. That included a five-goal effort on March 23, 1944 in Game 2 of the opening series against the Maple Leafs.
6 – Dino Ciccarelli
If you didn’t grow up watching Dino Ciccarelli play, it’s easy to overlook just how good he was. He scored 608 regular season goals, 18th all-time, and added 73 in the playoffs, 13th all-time. In fact, his goalscoring rate increased in the postseason, from .49 G/G in the regular season to .52 G/G in the playoffs. He had six hat tricks in the postseason but never multiple in a year. He had two hat tricks each with the Minnesota North Stars, Capitals, and Red Wings.
5 – Mike Bossy
Bossy’s prolific goalscoring carried over to the postseason with 85 goals, sixth-most in history, in 129 games, tied for 163rd all-time. That .66 G/G average in the postseason is second only to Lemieux. Bossy led the postseason in goals three straight years between 1981 and 1983 with 17 goals each and had four postseasons with 10-plus goals. He had five playoff hat tricks, including three in 1983 when the Islanders won the final Stanley Cup of their dynastic run. He had four goals in the series-clinching Game Seven of the conference finals against the Bruins.
Most in a Single Postseason
4 – Jari Kurri (1985)
Kurri paced the 1985 Playoffs with 19 goals alongside 12 assists in 18 games en route to helping the Oilers defeat the Flyers in five games in the Stanley Cup Final. He had four hat tricks that postseason, one in the conference semifinals and three in the conference finals.
His semifinal hat trick was against the Jets on April 25 when he tallied three goals and one assist. His three conference finals hat tricks were against the Black Hawks between May 7 and 16. He had a standard three-goal hat trick on May 7 and registered back-to-back ones with three goals and two assists on May 14 and four goals on May 16.
3 – Mike Bossy (1983)
Like Kurri, Bossy’s hat tricks during the 1983 Playoffs resulted in his team winning the Stanley Cup. For Bossy and the Islanders, it was their fourth in a row. He had 17 goals and 26 points in 19 games and, again like Kurri, one of Bossy’s hat tricks was in the conference semifinals against the Capitals on April 10 and the others occurred in the conference finals against the Bruins. One was on May 3 and the other on May 7 with four goals. That year, he also scored the Cup-winning goal in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final against the Oilers.
3 – Mark Messier (1983)
Mark Messier’s Oilers were ousted in the Cup Final against Bossy’s Islanders but it wasn’t due to Messier, who had 15 goals and 21 points in 15 games that postseason. He had four career postseason hat tricks with three in 1983, two in the conference semifinals and one in the conference finals. His semifinals hat tricks were against the Flames on April 14 and 17 with a combined seven goals. His conference finals hat trick occurred against the Black Hawks on April 26.
Most in a Career – Active
3 – Sidney Crosby
There were almost 10 years between Sidney Crosby’s first postseason hat trick in 2009 and his most recent in 2018. His first was in the conference semifinals against the Capitals on May 4, a game in which both he and Ovechkin netted three goals and Crosby’s Penguins lost 4-3. His most recent hat trick was in a 7-0 rout of the Flyers in the opening round of the 2018 Playoffs on April 11. Sandwiched in between those was a May 17, 2013 hat trick against the Senators in the conference semifinals. Crosby also has 10 regular season hat tricks.
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