This Day in Hockey History – December 10, 1986 – Gretzky Turns 40… Hat Tricks That Is

When it comes to hockey, there isn’t much that Wayne Gretzky didn’t accomplish in his career. There is a reason that all the NHL teams retired his no. 99 in 2000. He holds or shares 61 records.

“The Great One” was born January 26, 1961 in Brantford, Ontario. He began his career with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers were one of the teams from the WHA that entered the NHL after the WHA folded.

At the age of 25, during a game between the Oilers and the Winnipeg Jets that took place at Winnipeg Arena, December 10, 1986, Gretzky became the first NHL player to notch his 40th career hat trick. Gretzky began the scoring for his Oilers just 30 seconds into the first period—a shorthanded goal. That was his third shorthanded goal of the season. He got his second goal of the game, to put the Oilers up 2-0 at 7:56 of the same period. His second goal was a 30-foot screen shot.

“Rookie goalie Daniel Berthiaume, who’s tag-teamed with Pokey Reddick this National Hockey League season, needed an elephant gun not a glove to stop Gretzky’s boogie-woogie,” described Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal.

By the end of the opening twenty, the Oilers were leading 3-0, though Gretzky had nothing to do with that third goal of the opening frame. Glenn Anderson notched his 17th goal of the season, unassisted at 8:21, on the Oilers sixth shot of the game.

Gretzky potted his third goal of the game 1:47 into the second period, garnering his 27th goal of the season along with becoming the first player to achieve 40 hat tricks.

“Wayne Gretzky let the Winnipeg Jets know he is still boss of the Smythe Division. In an early showdown for division honors, the smooth-skating star of the Edmonton Oilers had a hat trick in less than 22 minutes Wednesday night at Winnipeg and led the Oilers to a 7-4 victory,” reported The Los Angeles Times.

“I’ve hit 50 in 50 games twice. I’d like to get it a third time. I might not have another chance,” said Gretzky after the game.

Going into the game against Winnipeg, Gretzky was on a bit of a goal scoring tear having 10 goals in his previous 12 games. He wasn’t attributing it to his skill either, instead he said that it was due to a recent set of sticks.

“There’s a little bit bigger curve. I’ve been firing the puck harder. The puck just seems to be jumping off the stick more,” he said.

In addition to reaching the impressive 40th hat trick, with that third goal in the game, Gretzky also earned his 508th career NHL goal putting him in 12th place in the all-time list putting him ahead of Jean Beliveau who had reached 507 goals in his career 1,125 NHL games.

Gretzky would finish his NHL career with having achieved 50 hat tricks, which still stands as the NHL record.

Additional Sources:

• Jim Matheson, “Gretzky show in high gear,” Edmonton Journal (Edmonton, Alberta), Thursday, December 11, 1986, p. E-1.
• “Gretzky Hat Trick Lets Jets Know He Is Still the Boss,” The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California), Thursday, December 11, 1986, Part III, p. 19 .