NHL records are dominated by one name, and that one name remains atop the rankings in the list of the most career NHL hat-tricks.
The Great One, of course, tops this NHL record – even when it’s split between regular season and postseason hat-tricks, but to mix it up a bit, this page will also look into another form of NHL hat-trick.
Here are the margins by which Wayne Gretzky owns the NHL record for the most career hat-tricks and the player who tops the rankings for the NHL’s next most revered form of hat-trick.
Who Has The NHL Record For Regular Season Hat Tricks in a Career?
Wayne Gretzky has the NHL record for the most regular season hat-tricks in a career, finishing his 20-season obliteration of the league with the nice round number of 50 career hat-tricks.
Gretzky’s first hat-trick came in his first NHL season of 1979/80. He followed up with another in that inaugural campaign, helping to bolster his final stat line of 79 games, 51 goals, and 137 points.
The Edmonton Oilers legend’s most prolific seasons for hat-tricks would come in his imperious 1981/82 season and again in the slightly less mighty outing of 1983/84.
In both, Gretzky netted ten hat-tricks over the course of the single season, ending 81/82 with 92 goals and 212 points in 80 appearances and 83/84 with 87 goals and 205 points in six fewer games.
With the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky continued to score hat-tricks but went on a drought after the 1991/92 season. Luckily, he added the golden number 50 in his penultimate season, scoring it for the New York Rangers in 1997/98.
After Gretzky’s 50 hat-tricks to hold the NHL record, the next in line are Mario Lemieux (40), Mike Bossy (39), Brett Hull (33), Phil Esposito (32), and Alex Ovechkin (30).
They were sent packing 4-0 by the team now at +260 in the NHL odds to win the Eastern Conference and gain passage to the Stanley Cup Finals, but the Washington Capitals could yet propel Ovechkin higher up the career hat-tricks table.
Who Has The NHL Record For Playoff Hat Tricks in an NHL Career?
The record, once again, goes to Wayne Gretzky for the most career hat-tricks in the playoffs. No. 99’s mighty haul of 122 postseason goals includes ten hat-tricks – another nice round number to set the record at.
Gretzky was also kind enough to spread the scoring across his teams and career. Naturally, most of the playoffs hat-tricks came in the Oilers jersey, but two were showcased before Rangers fans, and one was for the Kings.
Of course, Gretzky was just as much of a prolific playmaker as he was a sniper, and this helped to buoy his superbly talented teammate to second for this particular NHL record.
Jarri Kurri gets to follow Gretzky towards the summit of the most playoff hat-tricks in an NHL career with seven postseason hat-tricks, which is on par with Maurice “Rocket” Richard’s tally.
Who Has The NHL Record For The Most Gordie Howe Hat Tricks in a Career?
Why score three goals in a game when you can score a goal, get an assist, and have a fight to be praised as a hat-trick scorer?
Few of the league’s current multi-faceted players record Gordie Howe hat-tricks anymore, but there was a time when emulating the legend – even if Howe never scored his namesake hat-trick – was a grand achievement.
Leading the way for Gordie Howe hat-tricks is Rick Tocchet. The right winger who featured for the Flyers, Penguins, Kings, Bruins, Capitals, and Coyotes across an 18-year career put up 18 Gordie Howe hat-tricks.
The Bruins, in particular, would benefit from this combination of scoring and bite in the playoffs this season, with their series against the Maple Leafs going to Game 6 and Boston at +400 to go on and win the conference in the odds of the best sports betting Ontario has to offer.
As would have been assumed at the top of this page, Wayne Gretzky is the king of regular NHL hat-tricks, but Tocchet does own one of the few NHL records that The Great One can’t lay claim to.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
