How many hat tricks is Colorado Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen on pace for?

The Colorado Avalanche have gone from dead last in the central division to fourth—middle of the pack—after they have played 17 games in 2024. One of the brightest spots on the team comes at the wing, Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen has played in all 17 games and has recorded 12 goals and 13 assists. He boasts a plus-minus of plus-3 heading into the team’s next game, Friday against the Washington Capitals.

In two of those games played, Rantanen has recorded three goals. In hockey, when someone finds the net three times in a single game, it’s a hat trick. Just a fun little mention for any new hockey readers.

Rantanen is expected to receive a nice pay raise in the form of a contract extension at some point. On one hand, it would be beneficial for the Avalanche to get the deal done in-season so that they don’t have to worry about it. It would also benefit Rantanen to get it done sooner than later in case something catastrophic happens, such as a big injury.

In September, I wrote an article on how many points Rantanen could end up with in 2024-25.

How many hat tricks is Mikko Rantanen on pace for with the Colorado Avalanche in 2024-25?

Surely, Rantanen is going to go several games without a single goal. That’s just the nature of the game of hockey. However, recording two hat tricks in 17 games is a pretty decent output. It’s clear that Rantanen hasn’t lost his ability to produce, even when it looks like he sometimes mishandles the puck—which I have noticed several times this season.

Anyways, when it comes to hat tricks in 2024-25, Rantanen is currently on pace to record 9.6-ish hat tricks. That means that he would be putting up just under 29 points in the form of hat tricks over the course of an 82-game season.

It’s unlikely, but certainly possible, that Rantanen plays all 82 games. Doing so would obviously increase his chances of recording hat tricks.

Here’s a fun fact: The all-time record for hat tricks in a single season is ten. That record was set twice by the greatest hockey player of all-time: Wayne Gretzky. He accomplished this in 1981-82 and 1983-84.