Most Hat Tricks in NHL History

Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most career hat tricks, with 50 scored between 1979 and 1999. That total sits 10 clear of second-place Mario Lemieux, another gap that reflects why Gretzky is known simply as “The Great One” across almost every scoring category in the sport.

A hat trick, three goals by one player in a single game, is hockey’s signature individual feat, celebrated by fans throwing hats onto the ice. Piling them up over a career requires both elite finishing and remarkable consistency. Here is the full leaderboard of the NHL’s top hat-trick scorers, the players behind the numbers, and why Gretzky’s mark stands alone. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Wayne Gretzky and 50 hat tricks

Gretzky recorded 50 hat tricks across 20 NHL seasons, most of them during his dominant run with the Edmonton Oilers in the 1980s. In an era of high scoring, he still separated himself, routinely producing multi-goal nights on top of his historic assist totals. Fifty is a round number that captures how far ahead of his peers he was.

The record is secured by both peak and longevity. Gretzky did not simply score in bursts; he kept generating hat tricks year after year, which is why no one has approached 50 in the decades since.

The full leaderboard of NHL hat tricks

The table below ranks the NHL’s career hat-trick leaders. Active players are noted, and figures at the edges are approximate.

Rank	Hat tricks	Player	Career
1	50	Wayne Gretzky	1979-1999
2	40	Mario Lemieux	1984-2006
3	39	Mike Bossy	1977-1987
4	33	Brett Hull	1986-2005
5	32	Phil Esposito	1963-1981
6	32	Alex Ovechkin*	2005-present
7	28	Bobby Hull	1957-1980
8	28	Marcel Dionne	1971-1989
9	27	Cy Denneny	1917-1929
10	26	Maurice Richard	1942-1960

The list spans the entire history of the league, from early stars like Cy Denneny to the modern game’s Alex Ovechkin. Every player on it ranks among the greatest goal scorers the sport has produced.

Lemieux and Bossy: elite rates in fewer games

Mario Lemieux (40) and Mike Bossy (39) both trail Gretzky on total hat tricks but rival him on rate. Bossy scored 39 in only 10 seasons before a back injury ended his career, and Lemieux reached 40 despite missing long stretches to injury and illness. Their presence so high on the list shows how efficiently both filled the net when healthy.

Ovechkin and the modern goal scorers

Alex Ovechkin leads active players with more than 30 hat tricks, built on two decades as the league’s most feared shooter. He is one of the few current players adding to the list, alongside a generation of scorers still years from the top tier. Ovechkin’s overall goal exploits anchor our leaderboard for the most goals in NHL history, and the playmakers who set up hat tricks feature on our most points in NHL history list.

Why the record matters

Hat tricks measure a scorer’s ability to take over a game, repeated across a full career. Gretzky’s 50 combine the highest peak the sport has seen with the durability to sustain it, the same formula behind his other untouchable records. For a primer on the feat itself, see our explainer on what a hat trick is in hockey, and for the players who did it best, our ranking of the greatest NHL players.

The short version: Wayne Gretzky holds the NHL record for the most hat tricks with 50, ahead of Mario Lemieux (40) and Mike Bossy (39). Alex Ovechkin leads active players with more than 30. As of the 2025 season, Gretzky’s mark remains far out of reach.