Best Goal Songs in the NHL

Key Insights

• Minnesota Wild's use of Shout by The Isley Brothers topped a 2025 ranking of NHL playoff goal songs for pure energy and instant crowd participation
• Chicago's Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis is the most iconic goal song in the modern NHL, permanently associated with Patrick Kane goals and inseparable from Blackhawks hockey
• The best goal songs share one formula: a big recognizable riff, space for the crowd to chant or shout, and either a local connection or enough history with the team that it feels like home

The Current Best

These are the goal songs leading every ranking right now.

Minnesota Wild — Shout by The Isley Brothers

The top-ranked goal song in a 2025 NHL playoff ranking, and the reasoning is straightforward:

• Lightning-fast tempo that makes 20,000 people instinctively want to move immediately
• The "Shout" call gives the crowd something simple and repeatable to do within seconds of the horn
• Pure energy without requiring any prior knowledge of the song to participate
• Works for first-time attendees and 30-year season ticket holders simultaneously

When the goal song works for everyone in the building regardless of their hockey background, it has done its job perfectly.

Chicago Blackhawks — Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis

The most iconic goal song in the modern NHL:

• Ranked second overall by multiple writers in a Daily Faceoff ranking of all NHL goal songs
• Called iconic specifically because you cannot hear the song outside a hockey context without picturing Patrick Kane
• The chanty "da-da-da" melody is easy, loud, and designed for mass participation
• Has been associated with Chicago goals long enough that it now feels like part of the city's sports identity rather than just a song choice

If you're explaining what a great goal song does to someone who doesn't follow hockey, play them Chelsea Dagger and let them watch a crowd reaction video. That's the explanation.

Seattle Kraken — Lithium by Nirvana

The goal song with the most obvious and most earned regional connection:

• Ranked among the very best in the league specifically because of its Pacific Northwest roots
• Pairs perfectly with Seattle's bass-heavy foghorn that precedes it
• A song so associated with the city's music identity that it feels less like a choice and more like an inevitability
• The crowd response in Climate Pledge Arena shows that regional connection translates directly into participation intensity

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The Fan Favorites

These songs show up consistently in fan rankings and arena atmosphere discussions.

Winnipeg Jets — Gonna Celebrate by the Phantoms

• Described as one of the best goal songs in the league by multiple writers covering the 2018 Jets playoff run
• Frenetic energy that paired perfectly with Winnipeg's whiteout crowd tradition
• The building reportedly felt like it was trying to lift off during peak moments with this track playing
• A goal song that became part of the playoff identity for a city that doesn't get enough credit for its hockey atmosphere

New Jersey Devils — Howl by The Gaslight Anthem

The best goal song for crowd chant participation:

• Praised specifically for its ring-out chorus and the drawn-out "Aayyy" chant that fans can sustain for almost the entire track
• Gives the crowd something to do that feels organic rather than prompted
• Has been a long-running Devils choice, giving it the history that newer goal songs can't manufacture

New York Islanders — Crowd Chant by Joe Satriani

• Ranked highly in multiple goal song reviews for being super memorable and tailor-made for call-and-response
• The name is literally Crowd Chant, which tells you exactly what it was designed to do
• Works because the crowd participation is built into the song's structure rather than grafted onto it

The Goal Song Formula

Writers ranking NHL goal songs keep coming back to the same qualities that separate the great ones from the ones that get changed every three seasons:

• Instant recognizable intro — The crowd needs to know what's happening within two seconds of the horn
• Space for participation — Chanting, shouting, clapping, or jumping, the song needs to give the crowd something to do
• Local connection or earned history — Lithium works in Seattle because Nirvana is Seattle. Chelsea Dagger works in Chicago because 15 years of goals happened to it

The songs that check all three boxes are the ones that become part of a building's personality rather than just part of its playlist.

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The Colorado Honorable Mention

Colorado Avalanche — Chase the Sun by Planet Funk

• Middling score in The Athletic's full NHL goal song ranking but consistently defended in fan comments for one specific reason
• The crowd-shouted "Hey!" that punctuates the track has become the real tradition, with the song serving as the vehicle for that moment
• Proves that a goal song can be elevated by fan participation into something better than the song itself would suggest

Sometimes what the crowd does with the song matters more than the song.

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FAQ

What is the best goal song in the NHL right now?

Minnesota's Shout topped a 2025 playoff ranking for pure energy. Chicago's Chelsea Dagger is the most cited iconic goal song in the modern era. Seattle's Lithium leads for regional connection. The right answer depends on what you value most in a goal song.

Why is Chelsea Dagger considered so iconic?

Because it's been associated with Chicago Blackhawks goals for long enough that the song and the team are now inseparable. You hear the opening riff anywhere and you picture hockey. That level of association is what separates an iconic goal song from a good one.

What makes a goal song work versus just being a good song?

Three things: a recognizable intro that hits within two seconds, space for the crowd to participate rather than just listen, and either a local connection or enough history with the team that it feels earned. Songs that check all three become part of the building's identity.

Do teams change their goal songs often?

Some do and some don't. Chicago has kept Chelsea Dagger long enough that it's now untouchable. Teams that change frequently often find that fan attachment to the old song outlasts whatever new track replaces it.

Has any goal song ever been retired for being too good to change?

Not officially, but Chelsea Dagger in Chicago and Enter Sandman in the context of Rivera's baseball entrance have both reached a point where changing them would feel like a genuine cultural loss rather than just a playlist update.

The best goal songs in the NHL prove that two seconds of music can carry an entire arena. The horn is the shock. The song is what stretches that shock into something the whole building shares simultaneously. Get to a game, hear it live, and you'll understand immediately why these tracks matter as much as they do.