Growing up in Southern Ontario in the 1970’s, I doubt I was alone in wanting to play hockey just like Darryl Sittler. He played junior in my hometown, he was a leader and he could keep up with the top scorers in the National Hockey League.
What I always find interesting, looking back, is that Sittler was a great player, yes. However, Darryl never won a single individual accolade in the NHL. He never led his team to the Stanley Cup, or even the finals for that matter. He was never selected to a First or Second All-Star Team.
Yet, Darryl Sittler was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as soon as he was eligible. Often, its heard, about this player or that, that they must at least win a Stanley Cup, if not an individual award, to get into the Hall. Sittler is proof that this just isn’t true. So, a fellow like Vincent Lecavalier or Joe Thornton should rest a little easier with this knowledge…
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Darryl Sittler – Junior and Minor Pro
Darryl Sittler played three years of major junior hockey in London, Ontario from 1967-68 to 1969-70. His first year was with the London Nationals and his final two were with the London Knights. Over his three years, he scored 98 and assisted on 154 for 252 points over 161 regular season games on some mediocre teams. In the playoffs, he added 30 points in 23 games.
Darryl Sittler Collection
In 1968-69, Sittler scored 34 and assisted on 65 for 99 points over 53 games. He tied for second for assists and was third in overall scoring behind Rejean Houle of the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Marcel Dionne of the St. Catherines Blackhawks. Joining him on that Knights team were Dan Maloney and Gilles Gilbert. The team finished seventh in the ten team league.
The following year, Darryl scored 42 and assisted on 48 for 90 points over 54 games. Maloney again joined him on the roster, along with Pat Boutette and Dan Bouchard. Rick Kehoe and Jim Schoenfeld started the year in London but were dealt to the Hamilton Red Wings midseason.
In 1969-70, Sittler finished tied for sixth in the league for goals, tied for seventh for assists and sixth in points. London finished a position better at sixth in the ten team league.
The London Knights have since retired the number 9 of Darryl Sittler. He was the first ever Knights player taken in the first round of the NHL Amateur Draft. He is one of three London Knights to advance to the Hockey Hall of Fame, as of 2016. The other two are Dino Ciccarelli and Brendan Shanahan.
Darryl Sittler – NHL
The Toronto Maple Leafs selected Darryl Sittler eighth overall at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. Between 1970-71 and 1984-85, Darryl played in 1,096 regular season National Hockey League games with the Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. Over that time, he scored 484 and assisted on 637 for 1,121 points.
In 76 playoff games, Sittler added 29 goals and 45 assists for 74 points. Despite some great Toronto teams in the mid-1970’s, the closest he got to a Stanley Cup was a semi-final loss to the Montreal Canadiens in 1977-78.
Over his career, Darryl had two 100 point seasons. In 1975-76, Sittler finished with exactly 100 points on 41 goals and 59 assists. He was ninth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy that year. 10 of his 100 points came in a single game against the Boston Bruins on February 7, 1976. He remains the only NHL player to accomplish this feat.
In 1977-78, he had his best season with 117 points on 45 goals and 72 assists. He finished sixth in goal scoring and was tied for second for assists with Guy Lafleur, both just five behind leader Bryan Trottier of the New York Islanders. Sittler finished third in overall scoring, behind Lafleur and Trottier, the only three with 100 or more points in 1977-78.
Despite not hitting the 100 point mark, Sittler did finish strong in a handful of other seasons. In 1973-74, he finished ninth with 38 goals and eighth with 84 points. In 1976-77, he tied Peter McNab of the Bruins for eighth with 38 goals. He also tied for eighth that year Bobby Clarke of the Flyers and teammate Lanny McDonald, all with 90 points each.
Later on, with the Flyers in 1979-80, he tied for eighth in the NHL with 57 assists. His mark was equaled by two Philadelphia teammates, Ken Linseman and Bobby Clarke. He also finished ninth with 97 points.
Sittler had 12 straight seasons with 20 or more goals and had five seasons with 40 or more. His best was 45 in 1977-78 but came close in 1980-81 with Toronto and in 1982-83 with the Flyers, scoring 43 in each.
Darryl was team captain for the Maple Leafs from 1975-76 to 1981-82. His captaincy ended with a trade to Philadelphia on January 20, 1982 for Rich Costello and draft picks. His time with the Flyers lasted until October 10, 1984 when he was sent to the Red Wings for Murray Craven and Joe Paterson.
On the international stage, Darryl represented Canada on three occasions. At the 1976 Canada Cup, he was named an all-star forward while Canada won gold, sweeping Czechoslovakia in a best of three final series.
At the 1982 IIHF World Championships in Finland, Sittler helped Canada to a bronze medal, behind the Soviets and Czechs. The following year, the tournament was held in West Germany but the medal results were exactly the same.
Darryl Sittler entered the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. Also inducted that year were Herbie Lewis and the great Vladislav Tretiak. His number 27 was officially retired by the Maple Leafs on October 15, 2016.
Darryl Sittler – Rookie Card
The Darryl Sittler rookie card appears as number 218 in the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set. Sittler’s RC, along with Bobby Clarke’s and Gilbert Perreault’s, provide the top cards in the set.
His final card was included in the 1984-85 Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets. O-Pee-Chee has him wearing a Flyers jersey in the picture but shows him as a member of the Red Wings. The front states ‘Traded to Detroit October, 2014’. His Topps card from that year still has him as a Flyer and does not mention the trade to the Red Wings.
Darryl Sittler Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1967-68 | London Nationals | OHA | 54 | 22 | 41 | 63 | 84 |
| 1968-69 | London Knights | OHA | 53 | 34 | 65 | 99 | 90 |
| 1969-70 | London Knights | OHA | 54 | 42 | 48 | 90 | 126 |
| 1970-71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 49 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 37 |
| 1971-72 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 44 |
| 1972-73 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 78 | 29 | 48 | 77 | 69 |
| 1973-74 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 78 | 38 | 46 | 84 | 55 |
| 1974-75 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 36 | 44 | 80 | 47 |
| 1975-76 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 79 | 41 | 59 | 100 | 90 |
| 1976-77 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 38 | 52 | 90 | 89 |
| 1977-78 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 45 | 72 | 117 | 100 |
| 1978-79 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 36 | 51 | 87 | 69 |
| 1979-80 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 73 | 40 | 57 | 97 | 62 |
| 1980-81 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 43 | 53 | 96 | 77 |
| 1981-82 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 38 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 24 |
| 1981-82 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 35 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 50 |
| 1982-83 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 43 | 40 | 83 | 60 |
| 1983-84 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 76 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 38 |
| 1984-85 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 61 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 37 |
| NHL Totals | 1096 | 484 | 637 | 1121 | 948 |