Gordie Howe hat trick

Lore & Background

The term 'Gordie Howe hat trick' was coined by a 1950s New York sportswriter, though Howe himself only recorded two such games in his NHL career. His son Marty once remarked that a more accurate version would be 'a goal, an assist and a cross-check to the face.' The first known Gordie Howe hat trick actually predates Howe's career, achieved by defenceman Harry Cameron of the Toronto Arenas on December 26, 1917.

A variation called the 'Double Gordie' occurs when two players each tally a goal and an assist and fight each other; this has happened on six occasions. In the April 9, 1981 playoff game where Brad Park and Bobby Smith completed a Double Gordie, Bryan Maxwell also recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick. Similarly, in the March 7, 2026 game between the Utah Mammoth and Columbus Blue Jackets, Alexander Kerfoot and Damon Severson completed a Double Gordie while Mathieu Olivier also recorded one.

Notable debut variations include Steve Pinizzotto's first NHL goal as part of a Gordie Howe hat trick on November 19, 2014, and Tyler Lewington becoming the only player to complete one with all three components being NHL career firsts on December 29, 2018. Tom Wilson's Olympic Gordie Howe hat trick in 2026 is believed to be the first in Olympic history, as fighting is strictly prohibited under IIHF rules.

Reader's Guide

The Gordie Howe hat trick occupies a unique place in hockey culture, blending scoring skill with the physical toughness historically valued in the sport. Though named after one of the game's greatest players, Howe himself only achieved it twice, while players like Rick Tocchet (18) and Brendan Shanahan (17) recorded far more. The feat has expanded beyond the NHL: Tereza Vanišová became the first woman to record one in the Professional Women's Hockey League on February 20, 2025, and Tom Wilson's Olympic version in 2026 marked the first in Olympic history due to the IIHF's strict anti-fighting rules. The 'Double Gordie' variant, where two opponents each get a goal, assist, and fight each other, has occurred six times, sometimes with additional players also completing the feat in the same game. The term's endurance reflects how hockey fans celebrate both offensive production and the willingness to engage physically, even as the role of fighting in the sport continues to be debated.

Did You Know?

• Gordie Howe himself only achieved two Gordie Howe hat tricks in his NHL career.
• Rick Tocchet holds the all-time record with 18 Gordie Howe hat tricks.
• Tereza Vanišová was the first woman to record a Gordie Howe hat trick in the PWHL.

Origins and the Man Behind the Name

The Gordie Howe hat trick is a triple-threat milestone in ice hockey: a single player must register a goal, an assist, and a fight within the same game. The phrase was coined by a New York sportswriter in the 1950s, a nod to Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, whose reputation for combining offensive skill with physical toughness made him the natural namesake. The irony, however, is striking. Despite playing a record 2,421 professional games across a five-decade career, Howe himself pulled off the feat only twice. His son Marty once joked that the true Gordie Howe hat trick should swap the fight for a cross-check to the face, suggesting that kind of unsportsmanlike aggression better captured his father's brand of hockey. Whether one agrees with Marty's revision or not, the original definition has stuck, becoming one of the most colorful and instantly recognizable phrases in the sport's vocabulary.

Howe's Two Occurrences and the First on Record

The first documented Gordie Howe hat trick in NHL history came well before the term existed. On December 26, 1917, Toronto Arenas defenceman Harry Cameron scored, assisted, and fought in a 7–5 victory over the Montreal Canadiens. More than three decades later, the man who lent his name to the milestone finally did it himself. On October 11, 1953, Howe scored a goal, set up Red Kelly for another, and dropped the gloves with Toronto's Fernie Flaman. Just five months later, on March 21, 1954, he repeated the triple against the same Maple Leafs, opening the scoring, feeding Ted Lindsay twice, and trading blows with Ted "Teeder" Kennedy. Both of Howe's personal feats came against Toronto, a fitting reminder that his rivalry with the Leafs ran deep. Yet across his extraordinary 2,421-game career, those two instances remained his only ones, a small footnote in an otherwise legendary body of work.

The Double Gordie and Rare Multiples

A Double Gordie occurs when two players on opposing teams each record a goal and an assist and then fight one another. Only six such games have been logged in NHL history. The earliest, on April 9, 1981, saw Brad Park (1G, 3A) tangle with Bobby Smith (1G, 1A) in a Minnesota North Stars 9–6 playoff win over Boston, a game in which Bryan Maxwell also completed his own Gordie Howe hat trick. The most recent, on March 7, 2026, featured Alexander Kerfoot and Damon Severson trading punches in a 5–4 overtime loss for Columbus, while Mathieu Olivier added a third Gordie Howe hat trick in the same contest. A particularly unusual case arrived on October 30, 2023, when both Liam O'Brien and Jack McBain of the same team completed the feat, the first time in 35 years that two teammates shared the honor in a single game.

Milestones, Debuts, and the Broader Game

The Gordie Howe hat trick has produced a string of memorable firsts. Tyler Lewington of Washington, in just his second NHL game on December 29, 2018, became the sole player to complete all three components as career firsts, including his first assist on Tom Wilson and his first fight against Zack Smith. Doug Risebrough in 1975 and Jacob Trouba in 2021 each achieved the feat on consecutive nights. The milestone crossed into women's professional hockey on February 20, 2025, when Tereza Vanišová of the Ottawa Charge scored a late regulation goal, assisted, and engaged in what was considered the first fight in PWHL history against Jill Saulnier. Tom Wilson made Olympic history at the 2026 Winter Games, completing the triple for Team Canada against France in a feat believed to be the first in Olympic hockey, since IIHF rules strictly prohibit fighting. All-time, Rick Tocchet leads with 18, followed by Brendan Shanahan with 17.

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