A hat trick in hockey is when a player scores three goals in a single game. Goals must come in regulation or overtime — shootout goals don’t count. When the third goal goes in, fans throw their hats onto the ice in celebration, a tradition that traces back to a wager in a Toronto hat shop in 1946. Hat tricks are genuinely rare: in 2024–25, there were fewer hat tricks across the entire NHL season than there were shutouts.
Hockey has a lot of traditions — playoff beards, handshake lines, throwing the octopus — but none is quite as immediately chaotic and joyful as a hat trick. One moment the game is moving normally, the next, hundreds of hats are raining down from the stands and arena staff are scrambling to clear them off the ice.
I’ve watched a lot of hockey over the years. Seeing a hat trick live is still one of those moments where the whole building goes electric. Here’s everything you need to know about what they are, where they came from, and who has scored the most of them.
What Is a Hat Trick in Hockey?
A hat trick is when a player scores three goals in a single game. All three goals must occur during regulation or overtime — goals scored in a shootout do not count toward a hat trick.
When a player scores their third goal, the tradition is for fans to throw their hats onto the ice in celebration. Play is stopped while arena staff collect the hats, which are typically bagged and held for fans to reclaim, with unclaimed hats donated to local charities.
Hat tricks are rarer than most fans realize. In the 2024–25 NHL season, there were only 77 hat tricks across 1,312 regular season games — fewer than the number of shutouts recorded that same season. You’re more likely to see a goalie post a shutout on any given night than to see any player score three goals.
Where Did the Term “Hat Trick” Come From?
The term actually predates hockey by decades. Its earliest recorded use comes from cricket in 1858, when a bowler named H.H. Stephenson took three consecutive wickets. The achievement was celebrated by fans presenting him with a hat — and the phrase “hat trick” stuck as shorthand for three consecutive feats in any sport.
The Hockey Origin: A Bet in a Toronto Hat Shop
Hockey’s version of the tradition has its own specific origin story — and it involves a wager.
In January 1946, Alex Kaleta, a winger for the Chicago Blackhawks, walked into Sammy Taft’s men’s clothing and hat store in Toronto before a game against the Maple Leafs. Kaleta made a bet with Taft: if he scored three goals that night, Taft would give him a free hat.
Taft took the bet — Kaleta wasn’t known as a prolific scorer, and three goals in one game is genuinely hard to do. Kaleta scored three goals that night and walked out with his free hat.
A few Toronto reporters picked up the story. Taft, seizing the promotional opportunity, announced he’d give a free hat to any Maple Leaf player who scored three goals at home. The story circulated, the phrase caught on, and from that point the “hat trick” became part of hockey’s vocabulary.
The Hockey Hall of Fame recognizes this as the accepted origin of hockey’s hat-throwing tradition. It’s worth noting that at least two other origin stories exist — including one involving the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters junior team in 1947, and another tracing to Henri Henri, a famous Montreal hat shop. The exact origin is genuinely debated, but the Kaleta/Taft story is the most widely cited.
Henri Henri: The Montreal Chapter
In Montreal, Henri Henri — a legendary hat shop near the old Montreal Forum — had its own hat trick tradition during the Original Six era. The shop would gift hats to players who scored three or more goals at the Forum, including Maurice “Rocket” Richard, who was one of the great hat trick scorers of his era. The Henri Henri tradition helped cement the hat-gifting custom in hockey culture across Canada.
How Often Does a Hat Trick Happen?
Here’s how hat trick frequency has varied across recent seasons:
| Season | Hat Tricks | Games | % of games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 115 | 1,312 | 8.8% |
| 2022–23 | 96 | 1,312 | 7.3% |
| 2021–22 | 102 | 1,312 | 7.8% |
| 2024–25 | 77 | 1,312 | 5.9% |
The 2024–25 season was a notable outlier — hat tricks were genuinely scarce, and finished below the total number of shutouts for the year. Whether that reflects a defensive trend or just natural variance is worth watching.
Types of Hat Tricks
Natural Hat Trick
A natural hat trick is three consecutive goals by the same player with no other goals scored by either team in between. It’s rarer and more impressive than a standard hat trick, and fans who know the game will make a point of noting when it happens.
Gordie Howe Hat Trick
A Gordie Howe hat trick is when a player records a goal, an assist, and a fighting major in the same game. It’s named after Gordie Howe because it represents total hockey — skill and toughness combined.
Here’s the great irony: Gordie Howe himself only recorded two Gordie Howe hat tricks in his entire career, both against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1953–54 season. The all-time leader is Rick Tocchet with 18, followed by Brendan Shanahan with 17.
Texas Hat Trick
Four goals in one game. Not an official NHL term, just a fan expression — a regular hat trick plus one more.
Double Hat Trick
Six goals in one game. Darryl Sittler accomplished this for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1976, in a game where he also added four assists for a 10-point night — still the NHL single-game record.
The “Hat Trick” in Other Sports
The term has spread far beyond hockey. In soccer, three goals in one match is a hat trick. Field hockey, lacrosse, and water polo use the same term. Cricket, where the phrase originated, uses it for three consecutive wickets. In most cases the definition is the same: three of the key scoring action in one game.
Who Scored the Fastest Hat Trick?
The fastest hat trick in NHL history belongs to Bill Mosienko of the Chicago Blackhawks. On March 23, 1952, Mosienko scored three goals in 21 seconds against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
All three goals came against the same defenseman, Hy Buller, who was playing on a broken foot for an already depleted Rangers squad. Mosienko nearly scored a fourth in just 26 seconds but hit the post.
For context on how remarkable 21 seconds is: the second-fastest hat trick on record is Jean Béliveau’s three goals in 44 seconds. In the modern era, Brayden Point of Tampa Bay scored three goals in 91 seconds in 2018 — considered elite by today’s standards.
An earlier speed record worth noting: Carl Liscombe of Detroit scored three goals in 1 minute and 52 seconds in 1938, which stood as the fastest for years before Mosienko.
Mosienko’s 21-second record has stood for over 70 years and is broadly considered unbreakable under normal game conditions.
Who Has the Most Hat Tricks?
All-Time Career Leaders
| Rank | Player | Career | Hat Tricks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wayne Gretzky | 1979–99 | 50 |
| 2 | Mario Lemieux | 1984–2006 | 40 |
| 3 | Mike Bossy | 1977–87 | 39 |
| 4 | Alex Ovechkin | 2005–present | 34 |
| 5 | Brett Hull | 1986–2006 | 33 |
| 6 | Phil Esposito | 1963–81 | 32 |
| 7 | Bobby Hull | 1957–80 | 28 |
| 7 | Marcel Dionne | 1971–89 | 28 |
| 9 | Maurice Richard | 1942–60 | 26 |
| 10 | Cy Denneny | 1917–29 | 25 |
Gretzky’s 50 career hat tricks is the record that stands out most. To put it in context: he scored a hat trick in roughly one out of every 24 games he played. Mike Bossy’s ratio is actually slightly better on a per-game basis — Bossy averaged a hat trick in about one of every 19 games, the highest ratio among the all-time leaders.
Ovechkin is the most remarkable active entry on this list. At 34 career hat tricks he has already passed Brett Hull and sits 4th all-time — and is still playing.
Most Hat Tricks in a Single Season
| Player | Season | Hat Tricks |
|---|---|---|
| Wayne Gretzky | 1981–82 | 10 |
| Wayne Gretzky | 1983–84 | 10 |
| Mike Bossy | 1980–81 | 9 |
| Mario Lemieux | 1988–89 | 9 |
| Brett Hull | 1991–92 | 8 |
| Maurice Richard | 1944–45 | 8 |
Gretzky’s 10 in a single season — twice — is the kind of number that’s hard to process. The entire NHL averaged fewer than 2 hat tricks per team in recent seasons. Gretzky did 10 by himself.
Most Hat Tricks by Season Leader
| Season | Leader | Hat Tricks |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26* | Sherwood / Cooley / Bedard (tied) | 2 |
| 2024–25 | Mikko Rantanen | 3 |
| 2023–24 | Tage Thompson | 5 |
| 2022–23 | Tage Thompson | 4 |
| 2021–22 | Auston Matthews | 4 |
| 2020–21 | McDavid / Zibanejad (tied) | 3 |
| 2019–20 | Ovechkin / Pastrnak (tied) | 4 |
| 2018–19 | Patrik Laine | 3 |
| 2017–18 | DeBrincat / Ovechkin / McDavid (tied) | 3 |
*2025–26 season still in progress as of April 2026.
What Happens to the Hats?
After the third goal goes in and the celebration starts, arena staff collect the hats from the ice before play resumes. Here’s what typically happens to them:
The player is presented with a selection of hats as a keepsake — they’ll usually keep one or two to remember the game. The rest are held by the team’s lost-and-found for a few days, so fans who want their hat back can claim it. Any unclaimed hats are donated to local charities.
Most fans who throw their hats know they’re not getting them back. It’s considered a gift to the moment.
Key Takeaways
- A hat trick is three goals in one game; shootout goals don’t count
- The term originated in cricket (1858) and entered hockey via a Toronto hat shop bet in 1946
- Hat tricks are rarer than shutouts — in 2024–25 there were only 77 all season
- A natural hat trick means three consecutive goals with no other scoring in between
- A Gordie Howe hat trick is a goal, an assist, and a fight — Gordie himself only recorded it twice
- Wayne Gretzky holds the all-time record with 50 career hat tricks
- Bill Mosienko’s 21-second hat trick in 1952 is the fastest ever recorded
- Alex Ovechkin sits 4th all-time with 34 career hat tricks — and is still active
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a shootout goal count toward a hat trick?
No. Only goals scored in regulation or overtime count. Shootout goals are excluded.
What is a natural hat trick?
Three consecutive goals by the same player with no other goals scored by either team between them.
What is a Gordie Howe hat trick?
A goal, an assist, and a fighting major in the same game. Rick Tocchet holds the all-time record with 18.
Who has the most hat tricks in NHL history?
Wayne Gretzky, with 50 career hat tricks.
How rare is a hat trick?
In 2024–25, there were only 77 hat tricks in 1,312 NHL games — fewer than the number of shutouts that season.
What happens to the hats fans throw on the ice?
Players keep a few as mementos. The rest are held for fans to reclaim, with unclaimed hats going to local charities.
Is the term “hat trick” used in other sports?
Yes — soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, and cricket all use “hat trick” to mean three of the key scoring action in one game.
Last Updated: April 2026
