Darryl Sittler’s First Game Against the Maple Leafs: A Bittersweet End to a Blue & White Legacy

On April 4, 1982, at the Philadelphia Spectrum, NHL fans witnessed a bittersweet and historic moment: Darryl Sittler, once the heart and soul of the Toronto Maple Leafs, suited up for the Philadelphia Flyers to face his former team for the very first time.

Just months earlier, the Leafs had traded Sittler, one of their greatest players and longtime captain, to the Flyers for Rich Costello and a second-round pick in the 1982 NHL Draft, which became Peter Ihnacak. The trade felt like a slap in the face to fans and to Sittler himself, a player who had poured a decade of heart, hustle, and historic moments into the blue and white.

That night, the Flyers steamrolled the Leafs 7-1 in a game that underscored just how far Toronto had fallen. Sittler contributed modestly with a single assist on the opening goal by Ken Linseman, and fired five shots on goal. While Sittler played a steady game, it was Tim Kerr who stole the show for Philadelphia with a hat trick, his 19th, 20th, and 21st goals of the season. Flyers legend Bobby Clarke also notched three assists.

The Leafs mustered only 18 shots on Flyers goaltender Pete Peeters. Michel Larocque, on the other hand, faced a barrage of 59 shots in the Toronto net. The lone bright spot for the Maple Leafs was Rick Vaive, who scored his 54th goal of the season, a franchise record that stood for four decades until Auston Matthews finally broke it.

About Darryl Sittler

Darryl Sittler played 1,096 regular season and 76 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1970-71 and 1984-85 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings. He was an eighth overall pick by Toronto at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft out of the London Knights.

In 12 seasons, Sittler scored at least 27 goals. He topped the 40 goal plateau five times, putting up a career best 45 in 1977-78. That year he had 117 points, placing him third in the NHL behind Guy Lafleur and Bryan Trottier. Darryl was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989.

NHL Hockey Card Legends: Darryl Sittler

From Longshot to Legend: Dave Taylor’s Rookie Hat Trick for the LA Kings

The NHL Amateur Draft in 1975 looked very different than today. No Europeans in the early rounds, and U.S. college players were often late selections. That year, all 18 first-round picks came from Canadian junior teams. The first NCAA player chosen? Brian Engblom, in the second round by Montreal.

But the Los Angeles Kings took a chance way down in the 15th round, 210th overall, on a kid from Levack, Ontario, now part of Onaping Falls near Sudbury, who was playing for Clarkson University. That kid was Dave Taylor, and the hockey world had no idea what was coming.

Fast forward to the 1977-78 NHL season. Taylor, now a Kings rookie, posted a solid 22-goal campaign in 64 games. But it was January 14, 1978, at the Omni Coliseum in Atlanta, when he really made headlines.

Facing the Atlanta Flames, Taylor netted a hat trick, all in the second period. Each goal was assisted by veteran Danny Grant, who notched five assists that night. Taylor’s third goal, on Flames goalie Yves Bélanger, was the game-winner in an 8-4 Kings triumph. He added a fourth point with an assist on Ernie Hicke’s goal later in the game.

Before the legendary Triple Crown Line was formed, Taylor was already proving he belonged, skating alongside Marcel Dionne and Grant. And he didn’t stop there. Of the 217 players drafted in 1975, Taylor was the only one to play over 1,000 NHL games. He spent his entire career with the Kings, suiting up for 1,111 regular season games and 92 playoff contests from 1977 to 1994. Not bad for a 15th-round pick.

Dave Taylor's NHL Hat Tricks

Over his lengthy NHL career, Dave Taylor scored three or more goals in a game nine times. In those nine games, the Kings were 8-1. On January 25, 1990, Taylor scored three goals on Edmonton Oilers goalie Bill Ranford in a 7-6 loss at Northlands Coliseum.

Dave's lone four goal game happened at the L.A. Forum on March 14, 1981 against the Minnesota North Stars. In a 10-4 blowout, Taylor scored the lone goal on Gilles Meloche after the veteran came in to relieve Don Beaupre. Beaupre allowed nine goals on 25 shots, including Taylor's first three of the game. Included in those was the game winner, scored at 10:22 of the first period with help from Marcel Dionne and Rick Chartraw.

His nine hat tricks were scored against nine different teams. Five were at home and four were on the road. All were regular season hatties, except for one. Dave had a playoff three goal game against the Calgary Flames in game four of the Smythe Division semi-final on April 10, 1990. In the 12-4 win, Taylor, Tony Granato and Tomas Sandstrom all record hat tricks while Granato, Wayne Gretzky and Sandstrom had five point games.

Marcel Dionne Becomes First King to Score 50 Goals in a Season

Marcel Dionne was already on fire heading into the final stretch of the 1976-77 NHL season. Just days earlier, he delivered a two-goal, three-point performance in a 7-5 win over the Colorado Rockies, his 47th and 48th goals of the year.

Dionne Reaches 50 Against The North Stars

Then came April 2, 1977, a historic night for the Los Angeles Kings and a career-defining moment for Dionne. Hosting the Minnesota North Stars in their final home game of the season, Dionne etched his name into franchise history.

He netted the only two goals of the second period, his 49th and 50th of the season, just 1:57 apart. With that, Dionne became the first player in Kings history to reach the coveted 50-goal mark, a milestone not seen in the team’s first ten years of existence. But he wasn’t finished.

Dionne completed the hat trick with his 51st goal at 5:38 of the third period and also recorded assists on first-period tallies by Glenn Goldup and Vic Venasky, finishing the night with five points and eight shots on goal. Pete LoPresti allowed goals 49 and 50, while Gary Smith gave up Dionne’s third in relief during the third period.

Setting The Mark At 53

In the final game of the season in Denver, Dionne added two more goals, numbers 52 and 53 against the Colorado Rockies. While Dionne closed his season with a bang, it was Butch Goring who led the finale with a hat trick and an assist.

Dionne’s 53-goal campaign stood as a Kings franchise record until he broke it himself with 59 goals in the 1978-79 season. That record was later surpassed by Bernie Nicholls, who scored 70 goals in the 1988-89 season, helped in part by the legendary Wayne Gretzky.

About Marcel Dionne

Marcel Dionne could score goals. He finished his NHL career with 731, placing him sixth all-time, ten behind Brett Hull and 24 ahead of Phil Esposito. From his first season with the Detroit Red Wings in 1971-72 until his last full season with the New York Rangers in 1987-88, Marcel scored no less than 24 goals in a single campaign. He reached the 50 goal plateau six times.

Between 1971-72 and 1988-89, Dionne played 1,348 regular season and 49 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. The second overall pick behind Guy Lafleur at the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft won the Art Ross Trophy in 1979-80. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.